Unmasked
by Hybryd0
Summary: *hiatus* There are a lot of things Hawk wants to keep hidden. But when the past unexpectedly shows up in Landmark City he's forced to face everything he's tried to escape and more.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Alright, so this one started out with a simple idea that has suddenly sprang into a little more than simple. Eh, that's pretty much normal for any story I attempt to write. So, hold on tight because this is probably going to be a bumpy ride. It might also help to read Mask first just to get a basic idea…Also, slash…eventually. I don't think I manage to write a story that doesn't have slash. And there's also the fact that I don't get to see any episodes anymore because it only seems to come on when I'm already at work or not willing to get up, so some details are starting to get a little fuzzy. Forgive any mistakes I make because I have all of one episode on tape to really draw from. And now that I've rattled on long enough…enjoy!

xxxx

I dove straight for the ground as explosions rocked the air around me. Sometimes being the diversion really sucked ass. This was definitely one of those times as I circled the sky above a furious Paine. The maniac was doing everything he could to blow me out of the sky while I was just hoping Axel and the others arrived sometime soon. My job, as usual, was to get there first and keep Paine busy. Sometimes I felt like that was all I ever did. Run and be the bait and then let Axel take all the credit for fighting Paine. Me bitter? Not at all. I'm not really. I'm not a bitter person, though I think I would have every right in the world to be bitter. But it's not in my nature. Though lying and pretending to be something I'm not isn't really in my nature either. That's purely a self-defense reaction to interaction with others. But those thoughts never crossed my mind during a battle. The soldier in me was always attentive and alert for any trouble.

I was in a steep dive straight toward the ground when there was an explosion too close to me. The heat from it made my skin prickle with sweat and I thought maybe an eyebrow had been singed off. Then another explosion rocked me hard enough to knock me out, but luckily it was only for a few seconds. When I came to I was plummeting straight for the ground. I let out an unmanly shriek of terror as I just barely pulled myself up in time to just barely skim the ground.

"Hawk, are you okay?" Axel asked via the helmet comms.

"Never better," I replied, managing to keep the tremor out of my voice.

I turned and zoomed between two buildings to give myself a moment to recover. That had been a really close call, too close. My heart was hammering out a hardcore drum beat in my chest and for just a moment I couldn't catch my breath. I flew in circles for a few seconds letting my heartbeat slow down while listening to the shouts of my teammates in my helmet. It reminded me too much of my time spent in the military, of the close call I'd had one time when I blacked out during a jetpack training session. I had barely woken up in time to pull out of that freefall too and I think sadly enough that it had been Bogie's desperate shouts that had really brought me back. I say sadly because of what our friendship turned into, what he turned it into by stabbing me in the back.

I came out of my circle and headed back into the battle and knew from listening that King and Lioness were dealing with Flesh while Axel and Shark were taking on Paine. And then I saw Spydah preparing to jump Shark from behind. My Shark, though he wasn't technically mine yet. Because of that I would do whatever it took to protect him. Acting more on instinct than anything else I went straight for Spydah as the villain pounced. I heard Shark gasp and look over, but my friend wouldn't have had time to dodge the evil maniac if I hadn't acted first. I grabbed Spydah by two of his mechanical arms and shot up into the air.

"Are you crazy?" Spydah screamed.

"Crazy's all in the eyes of the beholder," I retorted.

I climbed a little higher and then turned and dove at a rooftop. Spydah shouted and made a desperate grab for something to hold onto, but I let him go too soon. Spydah slammed into the roof with teeth jarring force and I swooped in for a flying kick. Spydah recovered quicker than I anticipated and grabbed my foot with his mechanical arms. I gave a startled yelp as I was swung to the ground with enough force to knock the breath out of me. Laying flat on my back I tried to get my breath back, but I wasn't quick enough and the next thing I knew Spydah pounced. The villain used his mechanical limbs to pin my arms and legs down, piercing through my suit to do so.

"Time to pluck this bird's feathers," Spydah cackled, leaning down over me.

I struggled fiercely, but couldn't pull my suit free. All I could do was stare up at Spydah with wide eyes as the man yanked off my helmet, cutting off my communication with my teammates. There was something in Spydah's eyes that was truly creepy, something I didn't even want to begin to identify. It made me want to throw up.

"If it were up to me we'd have a little fun, but I think Paine would want me to make sure you're out of the way," Spydah told me in a low voice that let me know exactly what kind of fun the maniac was thinking about.

"Sick bastard," I hissed.

Spydah smirked, eyes flashing with cold malice as he moved to kneel over my prone form. I struggled to get away, but there was nothing I could do as his hands wrapped around my throat and began to squeeze. It was a soft threat at first, just enough pressure to promise more. My eyes grew wider as I realized what was happening, but all I could do was squirm as those hands tightened slowly. The cold fingers made my skin prickle as icy fear spread through my body. Then the grip was too tight and I couldn't breathe. I twisted my upper body, pulling on my trapped limbs, but Spydah simply settled down on my chest, restricting my breathing even more. I clawed at the hands, digging my nails in as much as I could, but Spydah simply hissed and clenched my neck tighter.

"Say goodnight little birdie," Spydah sneered.

I struggled to draw a breath in, lungs burning from the lack of oxygen. Dark spots danced in my vision and everything went silent except for the thundering of my heart in my ears as if it was loud enough for the world to hear. My struggles became weaker and weaker and the black spots began to fill my vision.

And then suddenly I was free and could breathe again. I drew in great gulps of air, coughing and choking, hands at my tender throat. All I could do for several long moments was just breathe. It was almost painful, my throat sore from the pressure that had been forced on it. Slowly I was able to come back to myself and managed to get myself into a kneeling position. Once my head stopped swimming I looked up to see what had happened and was surprised to see a figure I knew all too well fighting with Spydah. It was my brother, my twin brother Sam to be more precise. The one I could have sworn hated me and had already tried to take my life himself. To say I was shocked would be an understatement.

My brother tangled with Spydah for several minutes as I tried to get my bearings back. Then Sam grabbed two mechanical arms and fired up his jetpack, which was sleeker than mine, and shot off the rooftop. Spydah gave a squeal of surprise as he was once more in the air. The two disappeared over the side of the building and I scrambled up to follow, though I was still breathing hard. I fired up my Jetwing and blasted after them, watching as Sam dropped Spydah right on top of Paine. The two criminals shouted at each other, struggling to untangle themselves and get back up.

I heard the telltale thump-thump of a helicopter as it swooped in with a ladder swinging in the wind. Flesh clambered on first as it passed him by with Spydah right after him. Paine shot Axel a hate filled look and then climbed on the ladder as well. They all held on tight as the copter lifted up and rose higher into the air.

"Until next time Manning!" Paine shouted.

And with that the villains were gone. Sam buzzed by me with a whoop of excitement. I was anything but excited. His presence couldn't be a good thing.

We began to check on one another as I joined the group. landing beside Shark with an unsteady thump. Instantly Shark's sharp blue eyes were on me, taking in the sight of my torn up suit and the bruises already beginning to form around my tender neck. His eyes widened and he turned to face me fully, concern lighting his face. Normally I liked being the center of his attention, but I wasn't exactly eager to talk about my near death experience. I was more interested in what my brother wanted.

"Hawk man, you okay?"

Shark's question seemed to instantly gain the attention of the other three who turned their attention to me. I nodded slowly, unable to back it up with my usual act of boisterous arrogance. I didn't feel very arrogant or boisterous. Breathing hurt bad enough, I couldn't even imagine what talking would feel like. I was only half paying attention to them anyway. My eyes were on the figure headed toward us in a lazy downward spiral.

"What happened?' Axel questioned.

I shook my head and motioned to my throat. Before my friends could ask me anything else Sam landed a few feet from us. "He bit off more than he could chew with Spydah. Would have gotten he life choked out of him if I hadn't saved his ass."

Despite my downtrodden spirit, my metaphorical feathers were ruffled by that. I knew Sam worded it just like that to piss me off. Everything he did was to either piss me off or hurt me. To him I'm the evil twin who doesn't deserve to live. To me he's a complete stranger, someone I thought I knew, but turned out I didn't know him at all.

For the first time in several years I was once more looking into familiar green eyes. He had let his hair get a little longer than mine, but at least it was back to it's natural color. The last time I had seen him it had been an appalling purple color. Mom had not been impressed. I was happy with my red hair, I never felt the need to change it, but after Sam caught me making out with another boy he hadn't wanted to look anything like me.

"Dude, you never told us you had a twin. Why didn't he come to the Christmas party?" Shark asked.

I could feel myself pale more than I already was. God things were getting complicated quick. I opened my mouth to say something, but stopped. It would still hurt too much to talk. And how was I supposed to explain to my friends that I had hired actors to play my parents because my real ones disowned me? Let alone have to explain why they disowned me. Judging by the small smirk my twin shot me he had figured that out and knew exactly what he was doing.

"I think he's still recovering from his tangle with Spydah," my twin said. "I'm Sam, the older twin."

"Well, Sam, seems we owe you thanks for helping," Axel said with a big smile.

"I don't need thanks for saving my bro. He'd do the same for me," Sam replied, shooting a smile that probably looked genuine to everyone else, but I could read it perfectly. He was mocking me without words.

I was completely flabbergasted. I didn't understand what was going on. I wondered if I stepped into the twilight zone or something

"How about you join us for dinner? We'd all love to hear some of Hawk's dirty secrets," Lioness said, shooting me a teasing smile.

I knew I paled even further and gulped as my twin's sharp eyes shifted to me. The others probably just saw brotherly teasing, but I felt the malice in that stare. We had always been able to kind of feel each other's emotions and we didn't necessarily read each other's minds, but there was always this definite connection when we were close. I knew Sam was up to something, but what?

"I'd be honored. But first I think I'm going to take my lil' bro to the hospital, y'know, get his throat looked at," Sam said. Obviously he was going to play the caring brother card in front of my friends.

I wanted to argue. I didn't want to be alone with Sam, but I didn't want my friends to wonder why I was afraid to be alone with my own twin. Instead I did the first thing that popped to mind. I grabbed Shark and pulled him along. Shark gave a surprised squeak, but went along with it, which I was extremely grateful for. I knew my calm, collected surfer bud would just go along with it. And I could sense my brother was furious about the interloper tagging along, but I knew Sam wouldn't try anything with someone else around. For a little while I would be safe from whatever Sam was planning.

xxxx

_On the surface I thought Sam seemed like a nice guy. He was polite and thoughtful and definitely didn't seem to have the same ego as Hawk. He was interested in me and kept me deep in conversation while the doctor was checking out Hawk's throat and other minor bumps and bruises. By the time Hawk reappeared I knew Sam's favorite band, that he enjoyed water sports as much as aerial ones, and that Hawk had always been a ham for attention._

_But under all that and despite the pleasant, nice guy attitude, I felt something was off. There was something about Sam that just wasn't quite right. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but Sam almost seemed too nice. Maybe it was just because it was a big leap from Hawk's usual attitude, which could be trying at times, but there was so much about him that I loved. But no that wasn't what my instincts were telling me. They were telling me it was something more than just Sam being a little different from Hawk. And it was the slightly fearful look Hawk gave Sam that made up my mind. There was more to Sam than there appeared to be and for some reason or another Hawk was scared of him. That was when I decided I needed to keep a close eye on this new guy. For Hawk's sake._

xxxx

I took a careful swallow of my soup and glanced around the table. All my friends were completely absorbed in everything Sam was saying. No one was even paying a bit of attention to me, unless it was to laugh and poke fun at me for the embarrassing stories my brother was telling. Gotta love siblings for that. But it wasn't that he was doing it, it was that I knew he was doing it to be malicious. It kinda hurt that my friends were ignoring me in favor of his brother and were just going along with everything he said. It didn't help that I still couldn't talk and Sam seemed to be taking advantage of that fact, establishing himself as a good brother and a great friend without me being able to dispute it. Not that I wanted to, not really, I wanted to believe something in my brother had changed.

"You should have seen mom's face when she saw the mess. Zach was completely covered in flour and I was half covered in it and happily stirring out "pancake mix" as if we hadn't done anything wrong," Sam said, grinning as laughter spread around the table. "Man, the servants never let us back in the kitchen after that one."

"Servants?" King repeated, shooting me a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, we had to have staff to take care of the mundane things around the mansion," Sam said.

I frowned deeply. I never planned on telling my friends about my family's fortune, the one I had been officially cut off from. It hurt too much to talk about They already thought I was an arrogant ass, I didn't want them to think I was a spoiled brat too. I didn't want them to know the truth, didn't want them to know the real Zach Hawkes.

"You're a rich boy?" Lioness asked, sounding annoyed that the fact had never come up.

"No," I denied quickly, coughing as he sore throat protested. Which was true. I wasn't a rich boy because my parents disowned me.

Sam smiled at me, but his eyes were filled with malice. "Don't be modest, Zach. Your friends deserve to know the truth."

I paled and shifted my eyes to my soup. What ever game Sam was playing I didn't like it. Just how much of the truth was my brother planning on sharing? And how the hell did Sam find me in the first place? We hadn't talked since that fateful night and I stopped trying to contact our parents after many ignored and unreturned phone calls. My older brother was the only one I ever spoke to and I knew Drew would never have told Sam where I was.

"Yeah Hawk, what else have you been hiding?" King asked.

I was thankful that for the moment I had an out. I pointed to my throat and shook my head. King grunted with annoyance but didn't push. Sam shot me an innocent smile, but I knew better. He was trying to back me into a corner. It was obvious Sam was trying to get me to reveal things I didn't want to, but what was the point. Why was Sam there? To ruin my life again or for something more?

"Where are you staying, Sam?" Shark asked. I had to struggle not to glare at my friend.

"I'm going to find a hotel," Sam replied as if it was obvious.

"Nah, you're Hawk's family. You can stay here," Axel said.

"I don't want to be an inconvenience…"

"No inconvenience. We can fix a pallet in Hawk's room for you."

Axel must have been completely oblivious to the heated glare I shot him. The last thing I wanted was my brother anywhere near my friends. I knew if given the choice they would pick him over me. I couldn't blame them of course, I had established myself as an asshole with only a few moments of the real me shinning through.

"Nah, I doubt Hawk-man wants to share his room with his bro. We can put the pallet in my room," Shark spoke up.

I wanted to kiss him. I didn't know how Shark knew, but my bud came through for me. I finished my soup and stood to take my bowl to the sink when Sam spoke up.

"How about you show me around, bro? I'd love to see what you've been doing with yourself."

I tried not to let my panic show on my face. Surely Sam wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything there with the potential for one of my friends to catch him. As long as we were at the Aquatics Center I was pretty sure I would stay safe. Besides, maybe I was just imagining all the maliciousness and he really had turned over a new leaf. I was willing to accept that possibility, more than willing actually. But my instincts were telling me otherwise. Sam was there to cause trouble.

"Dude, I think Hawk here needs to catch up on his beauty sleep. Why don't I show you around?" Shark spoke up again, once more saving my ass. I shot my friend a grateful look. I really wanted to kiss him. Instead I left kitchen and headed for my room. Shark was right I really did need to catch up on my sleep. I was hoping that when I woke up in the morning it would have all been a nightmare.


	2. Chapter 2

In the morning I found that the only nightmares around were the ones I had that night, probably triggered by Sam's presence. Much to my disappointment my twin was at the table eating breakfast with my friends when I joined them. They were thoughtful enough to leave me a seat beside him. I hesitated a moment before taking the seat, my stomach growling at the smell of food. The soup hadn't really filled me up, I was a growing boy after all.

"Morning Zach," Sam greeted me. The sentiment was echoed by the rest of the group.

"Morning," I mumbled back after taking a sip of the orange juice already waiting at my spot for me.

All feelings of malice were gone from my brother's presence. The smile he gave me even looked genuine to my trained eyes. I was beginning to wonder if I had imagined it all. Maybe I had put those feelings there because that's what I expected from my brother. Maybe he really had come to his senses and accepted me for who I was. I wasn't about to hold my breath.

Breakfast was filled with more banter and suddenly it felt like I really did have my brother back. We entertained the others with stories of our childhood adventures. To say we both had active imaginations as kids would be an understatement. We could turn the empty garden into an alien battlefield where we became commandos hunting down man-eating aliens. And of course with that kind of imagination we also got into a lot of trouble, luckily most of it was just with the staff and our caretaker, Gregory, who watched over us while our parents were away on business.

"Wait a minute, you set fire to your living room?" King repeated with laughter in his voice.

"Turned it into a blazing inferno would be more like it," Sam replied.

"Needless to say they took our chemistry set away," I finished, sharing a grin with my brother.

"Thank god they never told our parents about that," Sam said. "Can you imagine what dad would have done?"

I winced and didn't reply. Our father had a hands on approach to discipline. I wouldn't describe it as abuse, not when we always deserved it. I don't think he ever punished us without good reason. Mom liked to scream and yell and then lock us in our rooms for as long as she felt necessary. Once I accidentally broke a priceless vase with a pair of wings I used to run around with. She was so furious she locked me in my room for a whole day without food or water. I always preferred dad's approach better. At least with him there was a few moments of punishment and then it was over. Mom's punishment could last a long time. I can't really blame either of them. They were never cut out to be parents. Their own parents hadn't been very good for them and therefore they never learned how to be good parents for us.

"Wait a minute, how wouldn't your parents have known about that? Didn't they see the damage?" Lioness asked.

"They were away on a business trip. Luckily all the furniture and whatnot was replaceable," I explained.

Sam laughed. "Do you remember the time we dumped slime all over Drew? I thought he was going to castrate you."

"You mean after he got done with you, right? He knew you were always the instigator," I replied.

"And Drew would be…?"

Sam raised an eyebrow at Shark's, "Our older brother." He then shot me a slightly hurt look. "You haven't told them anything about us have you?"

I was momentarily at a loss for words. What was I supposed to say to that? He had to know why I wouldn't have talked about my family to my friends. He was once more putting me on the spot and reminding exactly what he was really like. I kicked myself for letting my guard down and shot him a heated look.

"I don't think I really want to talk about this, Sam," I hissed at him.

Sam's eyes narrowed and I saw a flash of hatred in them. For a moment I thought he'd show his true self to everyone, but instead he let his eyes widen with a perfect image of sadness and hurt. If I didn't know any better I would have thought I'd really upset him, but he had just confirmed exactly what I already knew. He was up to something, something that took precedence over hurting me.

"I'm sorry Zach, I didn't know your family was such a sore subject for you," Sam said with just the right waver to his voice.

I was torn between calling Sam on his deceitful game or let him think he was getting away with it. He had to know that I knew he was up to something. He was smart enough to know he couldn't really pull that one over on me. But he also had to have figured out that I didn't want any of the painful secrets of my past to come out. I had made the mistake of letting him see that particular weakness. He knew I didn't want my friends to know the truth about my relationship-or lack thereof-with my family. If I called him on his game he would no doubt go right ahead and reveal those secrets to my friends and leave me to pick up the pieces. I wasn't ready to deal with that quite yet, plus, I needed to know what exactly the goal of his game was.

"Yeah, I have to say I'm curious as to why you've never talked about your brothers before," Axel said, eyeing me curiously. "I was under the impression you were an only child."

"You've talked about your mom and dad, but you've never said anything about brothers," King added.

Sam put on the perfect display of hurt and my friends ate it up. I wasn't sure how to respond to anything my friends were asking and I knew Sam enjoyed watching me squirm. I wasn't entirely sure how to handle the situation, so I did the only thing I could think of doing. I made a show of being a bigger asshole than usual and then took off in a perfectly performed tantrum of massive proportions. There would definitely be more questions waiting for me at my return.

xxxx

_Any suspicions I had before about Hawk's relationship with his brother were totally validated by the show I watched them put on. I don't think the others even realized what had really been going on, but I saw through both their acts. Hawk was hiding the truth about his family for some reason and the only reason I could think of was because there was a deep hurt there. At the same time I thought Sam was putting on one hell of a show of being a caring brother hurt by Hawk's apparent disregard for his family._

_Yeah, I totally played the dumb surfer role for everything it's worth. If people think you're dumb they talk more. They think you're less likely to catch on to their games. I knew I was going to have to play that role with Sam if I was going to find out what he was really up to. Whatever it was it involved hurting Hawk, I could read that in the guy's eyes. He totally intended to achieve some underhanded goal and bring Hawk down along the way._

_And I cared way too much about Hawk to let that happen._

xxxx

I had been too upset when I took off to remember to grab my helmet or even a jacket when I threw on my jetpack and took off. I shouldn't have been in such a big hurry to get away, but I honestly wanted to be anywhere but around my brother. The sneaky bastard was going to take everything that mattered away from me. It was eating at me, driving me crazy, but I_ knew_ that he had deeper ambitions than that. He had to, because if his only goal was to take my friends away from me he would have simply revealed all my deepest secrets and then stood back and watched the fun as they kicked me off the team and abandoned me just like my parents had. No, Sam was up to more than that and it was killing me not knowing what.

Because of my haste in getting away I couldn't fly nearly as high as I would have liked and it was only a matter of minutes before I was too cold to keep going. I landed on the roof of the closest building to me and slipped of my jetpack. I didn't plan on going back to the Aquatic Center for a little while. I needed to figure out how I was going to handle Sam before I could go back.

Whatever he was up to required getting in good with my teammates. Hurting me was probably just a bonus for him. His real goal probably had something to do with the fact that I work for Mr. Lee . The last time I talked with Drew he told me that Sam was using large amounts of his personal fortune and spending less and less time at the mansion. He was convinced our brother was up to no good. Apparently where I pretended to have an ego, Sam really did. Drew was concerned that Sam was being used by someone higher up in the food chain to carry out some illegal plans. Of course, I really didn't want to believe that, but then again I didn't really know Sam at all.

I jerked myself out of my thoughts as I felt a whisper of movement behind me. I spun quickly and was startled to find Spydah crouched and ready to pounce. I ducked just as he made his move and he soared over my head. I made a dash for my jetpack, but one of his mechanical arms grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me backwards, slamming me to the ground. I rolled as he pounced again, but another mechanical arm grabbed a hold of my leg and lifted me off the ground so that I was hanging upside down.

"Hello again little birdie."

Ah hell.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. I know it's kind of getting off to a slow start, but trust me, there'll be plenty of action and drama as the story progresses. Now that I've babbled long enough...

xxxx

Spydah slammed me into the ground and everything went white as my head connected with the rooftop. I heard the evil bastard laughing as the world came back into focus. I was surprised he hadn't knocked me out with that hit. I knew if I had any chance of getting away I needed to fight back and quick. I swung my body up and threw a punch at Spydah's face. If he had expected the move he probably would have been able to avoid it, but I think he expected me to be too scared of him to fight back. My punch caught him across the jaw and in his surprise he let go of me. I landed on my hands and flipped myself over onto my feet, instantly falling into a fighting stance.

Spydah recovered from his surprise and smirked just slightly, "I always knew you couldn't possibly be as much of a pussy as you act. Makes this that much more fun."

I didn't bother to retort. I could have told him about my military training, but I wanted him to continue to underestimate me. It was one of my single greatest advantages. Everyone underestimated me which always left me plenty of room to surprise them.

Spydah pounced just like he did the last time we were stuck on a rooftop together, but this time I was ready for that. I ducked low and sprang forward with a right hook to his jaw that rocked him to the side. I followed it with a left hook, but he ducked away from a third swing. I followed, trying to keep the pressure on him, but he blocked another right hook and stepped into me with a jab that caught me just under the sternum. I stumbled back, winded, and he tackled me. I rolled with his momentum and used my feet to send him flying across the roof. I flipped to my feet and took a few steps back, watching him warily.

"You put on a really good act of being a moron for someone who fights as well as you do," Spydah said as he got to his feet.

"Or maybe you're just a bad fighter," I suggested, giving him the cocky smirk he had come to expect. "I mean, you get your ass kicked constantly."

Spydah snarled and charged me with exactly the reckless abandon I had been going for. People never seemed to realize they don't fight as well when they let anger control them. I neatly ducked and dodged all of Spydah's wild attacks, getting my own in every opportunity. But he had a lot of limbs to keep up with and as I side stepped the thrust of one of his mechanical arms he caught me with a punch to the kidney that sent me sprawling to the ground. Then he just started kicking me, following me as I tried to roll away. With one final brutal kick he used his mechanical arms to pick me up by the shoulders and hold me in front of him.

"You put up a pretty nice fight, kid, but you'll never be good enough to beat me," Spydah taunted. He held me just far enough away that I couldn't kick him. "And if you thought nearly choking you to death was bad, just wait. I'm going to have some fun with you, pretty boy, before I turn you over to Paine."

That was more motivation than I ever needed to get away from the psycho. There was that tone of voice again, the one that told me he was thinking of doing bad things to me. I was old enough not to be naïve about what that meant. There was no way I was just going to let him take me so easily. I made a show of wiggling around, making him focus on my supposed efforts to escape. What he didn't notice was me wiggling one of my shoes loose. I then kicked my foot up and sent my shoe flying into his face. The shock of pain to his system caused him to let me go and I did several back flips to get away from him. He recovered quickly and charged at me, all his mechanical arm swinging forward and that's when I decided fighting him wasn't a good idea. I dove and rolled to the side and he passed me by, giving me enough time to snatch up my jetpack and sling it on. I heard him coming up behind me and took a running leap off the building, firing up my jetpack and zooming away.

I didn't get very far before I was forced to stop. I could see someone equipped with a jetpack hovering in my flight path several yards away. I was too far away to see clearly, but I thought it was possibly my brother. Any questions I had about intentions were answered when the other person hit some kind of afterburner and came right at me. I barrel rolled to the side and felt the heat of the other person's thrust indicating just how close it had been.

"Do I have some kind of target on my back or what?" I muttered to myself.

I twisted around to face my mystery attacker just in time to see I had no chance of dodging the second attack. I was hit with enough force to knock the breath out of me and felt the other person pulling at the straps of my jetpack. My heart gave a painful jerk as I realized what the person was up to. I struggled, both of us whirling wildly through the air. I managed to get an elbow strike to the other person's chest and that's when I saw the laser cutter. I tried to kick away, but I wasn't quick enough. Quick as a flash the straps of my jetpack were severed and I was freefalling.

Just as quickly as my fall started I was grabbed by one ankle and hauled upwards. That was when I really wished I had thought to change into my gear. I definitely didn't like hanging upside down and I really, really didn't like being so helpless. I was at the mercy of whoever it was that had a hold of my ankle. I used my upper body strength to pull myself up enough to get a bit of a look at my captor. If it hadn't been for the afterburner I never would have seen the person because of the black suit and helmet.

"Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions and I need you to answer me truthfully," a male voice said. "You can guess what'll happen if you don't."

"Whatever you think I know, I don't, so don't even bother," I retorted.

"Oh? Then there's no reason for me to keep you around."

And with that the maniac let go. I'm not ashamed to say I screamed like a girl as I plummeted to toward the ground. Then my ankle was caught again and my freefall came to a jolting halt. I whimpered in pain as my ankle twisted slightly and I knew that was going to be hurting for a while.

"Now, are you sure you don't want to hear my questions?" the man asked calmly.

"I think I'm open to the possibility that I might have answers," I replied quickly, not eager to face another freefall.

"Good boy," he took us higher into the sky before he went on. "Now, what do you know about Project Onyx?"

Ah, well, it just figured the psycho wanted to know about Wingstar Incorporated projects. I would have thought my father would have made sure everyone knew I was disowned, not a part of his world anymore. I had absolutely no clue about any of the projects he was working on for the military. I never knew anything even when I still lived with the man.

But I couldn't very well tell the psycho that I had no clue what he was talking about. He would probably drop me again and I still had no desire to plummet to my death. I needed to keep the man distracted long enough for me to figure out a way out of the situation.

"What makes you think I know anything?" I asked.

"Your father owns Wingstar Incorporated. You should know about his projects," the man retorted.

"I think you're mistaking me for someone else. I'm not a part of the family business," I told him.

There was a long moment of silence. My heart was pounding hard as I waited for his next move. I didn't have the answers he wanted. I couldn't have even begun to guess what Project Onyx was. Probably some weapon of mass destruction. And didn't it just figure that psychos would be after me because of my father's business years after he kicked me out on my ass?

"Alright, I'll give you twenty-four hours to find out," my captor said as if he was doing me a favor.

I balked, "Twenty-four hours. Newsflash, my father disowned me. There's no way in hell I'd be able to find out anything in a week let alone twenty-four hours."

"I can just drop you now if you'd prefer."

I definitely didn't prefer. "Okay, okay, I'll see what I can find out."

"Good boy."

xxxx

I had to walk, well limp really, halfway across Landmark City to get back to the Aquatics Center. Would have taken a cab, but I didn't have any money on me. I usually got around on my own. When I did finally get home the place was pretty empty. I considered that a good thing. I didn't really think I could deal with anymore drama. My biggest hope was that Sam wasn't there.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in."

I groaned as Sam sat up from where he had been laying on the couch, just out of my view. "I don't need this now Sam."

"Aw, c'mon bro, haven't you missed me?"

"What are you up to Sam? How did you find me?" I demanded, done playing his game while my friends weren't around.

Sam smirked, eyes twinkling with something I couldn't quite place. "Please Zach, you haven't exactly done anything to hide. Besides, did you really believe Dad wouldn't have eyes on you."

"He disowned me. He cut me off from the family fortune, wrote me out of his will, and kicked me out at his earliest convenience. Why the hell would that man keep eyes on me?"

"You may not be a part of the family anymore," Sam said, sounding absolutely thrilled with that, "but you still belong to him. You always will."

"I don't belong to anyone," I replied.

Sam snorted. "Don't be naïve Zach. Drew, you, me, we all belong to him."

"He lost any ownership he had over me the moment he threw me out the front door," I retorted. Sam's smirk simply grew and I let out a growl of frustration. I obviously wasn't going to win that argument, but I had more questions for him. "Answer my other question. What are you up to?"

"Me? I'm just here to ruin this pretty little lie you're living," Sam replied as if he did that sort of thing everyday. "I'm going to take your friends, take your job, and take that striking little surfer boy you have a crush on."

Without thinking I growled at him. He could take my job. I could always find another one. He could take my friends. The whole friendship was based on a lie anyway. But he wasn't going to lay a hand on MY Shark, who technically and probably never would actually be mine.

"You didn't even try to deny it. See, I was just taking a shot in the dark about which one of the boys you had a crush on and well, surfer boy does look a lot like the kid I caught you with way back when," Sam rambled on. "If you were smart you would have tried to throw me off, but now you've confirmed it. I can go for the kill."

"Sam, if you touch him--."

"Oh, I'm going to make sure you're the last thing on his mind," Sam sneered. "And there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

I was confused, furious, and completely caught off guard. Sam was hitting on every one of my weaknesses and he knew it. "I thought you hated me because I'm gay."

"Oh that was the start of it, but over the years I've come to just hate you in general," Sam replied. He sounded like it was no big thing, as if I should have just known that, but I was confused.

"But why? If you're gay too, then why hate me? I never did anything to you."

Sam shrugged. "Dunno really, don't care. I hate you, want to hurt you, and that's enough for me."

"But you're my twin brother damnit. There has to be more to it than that," I insisted. "I can't accept that you just hate me for no reason."

Sam's nonchalant façade dropped quicker than I expected. He moved so quickly I didn't even have a chance to gasp before he had me by the throat and pinned to a wall. He was strong, stronger than he should have been for someone his size. I could feel all the muscles in his arm flexing as he held me off my feet.

"You want a reason? I hate that I'm not one of a kind. That you look like me and sound like me. I hate the fact that you breathe the same air as I do," he squeezed my neck a little harder, actually starting to cut off my air supply instead of just holding me up. "I hate that Drew still stands up for you in front of our father, that you can do no wrong in his eyes while I'm the disappointment. I hate that I'll never be whole, because you're my other half and I HATE YOU."

With that Sam released me and I slumped to the floor, back still against the wall. I drew in a deep breath and looked up at my brother with wide eyes. I shouldn't have been surprised. It was foolish for me to think that his dislike for me wasn't that deep. I had hoped, despite knowing better, that maybe somewhere deep inside him he still cared for me even a little bit. But his words spoke to the truth I should have accepted long ago after he tried to kill me while I slept. My twin brother hated me and that hurt more than when my father literally threw me out of the house.

"Now that we've finally come to that understanding I'm going to go back to ruining your life and you're just going to sit back and enjoy the show, because you can't stand the idea of telling your friends the truth," Sam sneered. "I'm going to make you wish I had killed you."


	4. Chapter 4

"He doesn't hate you, Zach. He only thinks he does."

I snorted. "You didn't hear him, Drew. There was hatred in Sam's eyes. I almost thought he was going to kill me."

"Don't be so dramatic. You know you can't pull that over on me."

Ah the joys of older brothers. Drew knew all my dark secrets and he was the one person in the world who would never buy my act. He never let me get away with any of it. But I think he understood why I put up that mask around other people. He knew how deeply our parents and brother had hurt me over the years. He knew I didn't want to let anyone else have a chance of hurting me like that, but at the same time he always pushed for me to be myself.

"I'm worried, Drew. Sam is up to no good, you know that. He says he's just here to ruin the life I'm trying to build for myself, but I know he's got something else planned," I told him.

Drew was silent for a moment and I could hear him typing on the other end. "You know Sam works for our father, right?"

"Not surprising."

"Yeah, so if he's there now, then whatever he's up to has to be father's doing," Drew elaborated. "You're working for that Lee Industries right now, testing out new inventions. If I were a betting man, I'd bet whatever Sam is up to has to do with one of Lee Industries inventions."

That figured.

"Is there any way for you to find out what he's after?" I asked.

"I can try, but sometimes I feel like father hides a lot of things from me," Drew replied.

And that brought me to my next topic. I was sure Drew probably wouldn't have a clue, but I did have good incentive to try. That psycho who nearly let me fall to my death would be back, I knew he would. And I knew he would find me no matter where I went. I needed to have some kind of answer for him.

"Drew, do you know what Project Onyx is?"

Again Drew was silent. I could almost hear the cogs turning in his head. He had a very good memory and hardly ever forgot anything, even the little details. Sometimes I wished I could be a little more like him. He never had any of the problems I did.

"I've heard that before, but it was when we were just kids," Drew finally said. "It was probably one of father's projects."

"Yeah, but what?"

"I don't know, bro. I heard the name a few times, but I don't remember ever hearing anything that might tell me what it was," Drew told me. There was silence for a moment. "Why do you need to know so badly."

It was my turn to be silent. I wasn't sure how much I really wanted my brother to know. All he would do was worry and he worried about me more than I wanted him to anyway. I knew I was going to hate myself for lying to the only family member who still cared about me, but I did it anyway.

"I heard Sam say something about it."

"Really? That might be worth looking into then," Drew replied. I could tell he knew there was something more to it than that, but he didn't push me. "I'll see what I can find out."

"Without father knowing you're looking?" I hinted hopefully.

"Dad doesn't know everything that goes on no matter how much he thinks he does," Drew replied with a smirk in his voice. He paused for just a moment and I could almost hear his brain switching tracks. "You know, it might be time for you to finally grow some balls and make a move on that surfer boy before Sam does."

"Hey, my balls don't have anything to do with it," I retorted, then laughed at myself for such a stupid argument. "I don't want to put my neck out there like that."

"No, you're too chicken shit to be yourself in front of people you'd like to call friends," Drew retorted. "How can you even consider them your friends if you feel like you can't be yourself around them? You admitted it yourself that you're afraid they'll like Sam better than you because you've done nothing but play the arrogant, selfish, egotistical asshole."

"It's not that easy," I argued weakly.

Drew snorted. "No, it is that easy. If you don't want Sam to take everything away from you then don't give him a damn chance. You've left yourself wide open for him to just walk in and take it all away. Besides if they consider the egotistical jerk their friend, why would they have any problem with the real you?"

"Because the real me is gay and has a crush on the very straight surfer boy," I retorted childishly.

"And you really think these friends of yours are that closed minded, that they're homophobic?" Drew prodded.

"I don't know, I haven't taken the chance to find out," I snapped.

"It'll be better coming from you rather than letting Sam out you in a no doubt embarrassing way."

"Alright _Dad_, are you done lecturing me?"

"Someone has to look out for you. Sometimes I feel like I've been your brother, mother, and father."

"Aren't you talented."

"Yeah well, you're going to be paying for the dye I'll need to keep the gray hairs hidden."

"Yeah, with all the extra cash floating around I'll be sure to do that," I said, rolling my eyes as if he could see it.

"Well, I'd love to sit here and be the target of your fledgling sarcasm attempts, but unlike you I have work to do, real work."

"I work!" I squawked in protest.

"Bye bro."

"I work!" I insisted as he laughed. "You're an ass."

"Love you too little bro," he replied, still laughing, and then hung up before I could protest any further.

"Jerk," I muttered and slipped my phone into my pocket.

I took one last look at the city before I pushed myself to my feet and headed across the roof for the trapdoor leading back inside. I paused once I was inside, debating on what I should do. I knew Drew was right about everything. If I gave Sam an inch he'd take a mile. If I didn't make a move first everything I cared about would be his. I knew he meant it when he said he was going to get Shark before I did, but I couldn't let him do that. At the very least I had to protect my friend from my psycho twin, because no one knew what he was really about.

And I knew I wasn't being a good friend by not telling them the truth. I knew I should have told them exactly what my brother was up to, but that would open the door to more questions and go where I wasn't prepared to go. Drew was right. I was a chicken shit, but I was terrified of what could happen. My parents had never been the most supportive to begin with. They always made me feel like I was never good enough, but the way they totally disowned me had been a surprise. And I would never forget how my twin brother, who was supposed to be right by my side, turned on me like I was some kind of monster. All of that nearly tore me apart. I wasn't sure I could deal with the same thing happening again.

"Hey Hawk."

I snapped out of my thoughts at Axel's voice and looked over at him. "Yeah?"

"Mr. Lee has some new toys for us to test out," Axel told me. "You should also know that Sam wants to tag along."

"I'm sure he does," I muttered.

Axel cocked an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

"It's sad really, he's always been jealous of my achievements," I replied, putting on the mask I wanted him to see. "One of these days I'm going to shake him off my coattail."

Of course, Axel bough the act and I followed him back to the main room where the others were apparently waiting for me. Sam threw his arm around my shoulder as we headed to the garage. I sighed to myself. It was going to be a long day.

xxxx

Mr. Lee hit it off with Sam immediately. Sam had the usually reserved inventor relaxed and laughing. My friends seemed just as happy to have him around. I just wondered how things could get any worse.

The bright side of the day was the new aerial combat suit, the Razorwing, Mr. Lee was having me test. It was supposed to allow me to fly higher and faster than before. The helmet had a HUD much like the fighter jets I'd flown in the military, but even more sophisticated. It had so many features I wasn't even sure what all it could do. Mr. Lee said with a neural implant it would be even better, but I wasn't ready to take that step.

The most surprising feature of the suit was the anti-gravity propulsion system. I couldn't even begin to explain how it worked, but something about it made it faster than any jetpack I'd ever owned, even the more advanced Jetwings I had been using courtesy of Mr. Lee. It was a little strange at first, the difference between the furious roar of the jetpack and the quiet hum of the anti-grav engine was the most difficult to get used to. It was so quiet I could definitely use it in a much more stealthy way.

Something I found slightly startling was the built in weaponry that had not previously been in Mr. Lee's inventions. The tag blaster being an exception of course.

"I noticed you always seem to be the distraction, so I thought it was time you had a better chance," Mr. Lee explained when I questioned him about it.

There were retractable wrist blades for each hand. Attached to the left forearm was a blaster that I could manually adjust the settings on for a wide range of functions. The right forearm had a shield attached to it. The chest armor could be equipped to carry a wide range of weaponry as well as emergency supplies. I knew it all would give me a better chance on the battlefield, but it was still slightly unnerving for gentle Mr. Lee to attach so many weapons to something.

And then it struck me. Sam was there for the Razorwing. Somehow my father had caught wind of the aerial combat suit and he wanted it. It would be a great leap for the military and father would make a fortune off of selling it to them. I wasn't going to let him get away with it, not for a second. Sam wasn't going to steal anything from Mr. Lee or from me.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing. I have ideas for where I want this to go, but as usual my problem is figuring out how to get there. I'll try to update a little quicker next time, but a plot bunny for another story is currently biting at me and the annoying little jerk won't leave me alone.

xxxx

This was it. I decided. Drew was right. I couldn't let Sam have the satisfaction of stealing anything from me. It was time I sucked it up and made a move. There was a new action movie premiering that night and it was all Shark had talked about for weeks, but I knew he'd used the last of his money to buy several cases of this new high performance energy drink he and King was so obsessed with. So I knew it would be the perfect chance to ask him out on a date. Dinner and a movie. I knew it was very high school cliché, but it was all I could come up with.

I looked for Shark while trying to appear as if I wasn't really looking for him. I wanted to make a move of Shark, but I also didn't want it to appear that way. I found him just where I thought I would. He was doing laps in the pool. It was beautiful the way he moved through the water. There was such fluid grace in him, such compact strength that all I could do was stop and stare.

"It's not polite to stare."

I jerked around to Lioness. There was a gentle, knowing smile on her face. I could feel myself pale as I stared at her, hoping she didn't know what I thought she knew.

"Hey guys," Shark called out.

I turned my head enough to watch him effortlessly pull himself out of the water. I watched the muscles flex and move under his skin. When I realized what I was doing and jerked around to look at Lioness again. There was a smirk on her face that confirmed my fear. She knew exactly what I didn't want her to know.

"What's up?" Shark questioned.

I didn't want to ask him out with Lioness right there. I wanted Shark to just think I was asking him as a friend to go to a movie, not that I was asking him on a date. Lioness could do or say something to clue Shark in. I was actually expecting the hateful comments to start flying, but to my surprise it didn't happen.

"Nothing much, I thought for just a minute there Hawk here was thinking about joining you," Lioness said.

"As if," I shot back. "Nothing in this world would get me in that water."

"Oh I can think of a few things," Lioness retorted with that same smirk in place. "Anyway, I think he's actually here to talk to you Shark."

I didn't think I could pale any further. "Uhhh…"

Shark snickered. I lost all courage. I started to mentally backpedal while physically doing the same thing, trying to hide my limp as I did. I think for a minute both my friends were amused, but Shark grew serious real quick. "Dude, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I retorted quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?" _It's not like I'm harboring a secret crush on you or anything._

"Because you've been acting really weird lately," Shark replied. Lioness remained silent as they both waited for my retort.

"I'm fine," I insisted. I flashed what I hoped was a convincing arrogant smirk. "Nothing brings the Hawkster down."

Lioness snorted, but obviously figured out that I wasn't going to be making the move she wanted me to make while she was still there. Even if I wasn't sure whether or not she wanted me to fail or succeed in my attempt to ask Shark out…without seeming like I was asking him out. She made a quick excuse or other and sauntered out of the room. To my immense disappointment Shark watched her go and his eyes were obviously on her ass.

"Did you need something Hawk-man?" Shark asked as his blue eyes shifted back to me.

"I uh…," _Oh god man, just suck it up and ask him. "_I wanted to go see that action flick, Master of Swords, and thought maybe you'd like to come with me?"

"Oh dude, I would but I already told Sam I'd go to the teen night at Velocity with him," Shark replied. "You wanna come?"

_And watch my brother put the moves on you? _I shook my head. "Have fun." I managed to get out. I saw Shark open his mouth to say something else, but I beat a hasty retreat. I heard Shark call my name, but I had no intention of going back.

Just before I could make it to the safety of my room a small hand caught me by the wrist and pulled me to a stop. I sighed deeply and turned to face Lioness. I once more expected hateful slurs or something equally bad, but all I got was an understanding and sympathetic smile.

"It's okay Zach, you don't have to hide from me," she said kindly.

"Hide what?" I replied with my 'usual' arrogant tone. "I don't have anything to--."

"You can drop the act too. I know you're not nearly as arrogant of an ass as you'd like us to think," Lioness cut in.

I snapped my mouth shut with a click of teeth and shifted restlessly. I knew I had a choice in front of me. I could choose to continue on the safe path of pretty much being an arrogant jerk or I could let her finally see the real me. But I knew if I dropped the mask to her she would call me on it if I tried to continue wearing it in front of the others. There was the safe route or the truthful route.

"Arrogant ass, huh? I'll remember that on your birthday," I shot back.

Lioness frowned at me, golden eyes narrowing. "Why can't you drop the act? Don't you trust me?"

"Y'know, if you don't like who I am then that's your problem. I'm perfectly happy with who I am."

Lioness gave a frustrated growl and threw up her hands. "If you're going to continue acting like that then you don't deserve Ollie."

"SHHHH," I hissed at her. "Did you have to say that so loud?"

"What? Did you really think your little crush on Shark is a secret? Please, we're not as dumb as you seem to think we are," she shot back at me. Her glare softened as did her voice. "We're not as close minded as you think either."

There it was, the opening for me to finally be truthful with her. It was the only excuse I had for not telling them the truth about Sam, but…I really didn't want to get into my family problems. Most of all, I didn't want them to see how much of a mess I really was.

"Lioness, just…leave it alone, okay?" I said softly

For a moment I thought she might argue, but then she took a deep breath and nodded. Then she did something I wasn't expecting. She reached out and pulled me into a hug. For a moment I wasn't sure quite what to do, but as she continued to hold me I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. I couldn't even begin to explain how good it felt as the warmth of her support and friendship reminded me that I wasn't alone.

xxxx

_I never thought Hawk would have the courage to ask me out. I put on a good front, but behind my laid back, easy going nature I was a very observant person. I learned early in life that people didn't always show their true selves to me, but by observing them when they thought I wasn't paying attention I could learn more than they would ever tell me._

_I knew Hawk was hiding a painful past. His whole arrogant act was just to cover the vulnerable young man who had been hurt very badly by someone close to him. I could make a few leaps about who it was, but it wasn't my place to assume anything. I could only hope that someday I might earn his trust enough for him to tell me._

_In the meantime my gut instincts were telling me to keep a very, very close eye on Sam. They do say "keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer". I had never really bought that, but something about Sam told me I would have a better chance of keeping an eye on the dude if I was in tight with him._

_So, when he asked me to show him someplace to have fun I agreed. I figured I could take him out someplace where he might relax a little and maybe let something slip. If not at the very least I could just have some fun. I considered asking Axel or King to join us, to keep more eyes on Sam, but I decided against it. I didn't want Sam to have any idea that I was onto his game. People like him tend to let things slip when they think they're safe._

_A few hours later Sam and I were kicked back at Velocity tossing back energy drinks and talking. He seemed to enjoy telling me embarrassing stories from Hawk's childhood. The dude couldn't have been more obvious. I think the only thing that would have made him happier was if Hawk was there to feel humiliated by it. His contempt for his brother was as easy to see as the hair on his head. And it pissed me off the way he busted on my friend as if I wouldn't be offended by it, but I played it cool and calm and went along with it. Until I couldn't take it anymore._

"_Dude, for being so tight with your brother you sure do bust on him a lot," I commented._

_Sam's eyes flickered with something I didn't quite catch. "Yeah, well, being his brother I'm allowed to do that."_

_I wanted to tell him that he wasn't allowed to do that. He was supposed to be supportive of his brother. Instead I decided to change the subject. "Y'know, all we've done is talk about Hawk, but I'm interested in you."_

_Something shifted in his facial expression. "Oh really?"_

"_Yeah dude, I can learn about Hawk from him. I want to know more about you," I replied. I wasn't sure exactly what message I was trying to send him, but it probably wasn't the same one he was getting. "Tell me something no one else knows."_

"_I like to paint," Sam said, leaning back in his seat. "You're the first person to know that. It's not something my father would approve of as a hobby."_

"_Why not?" I asked._

_Sam made a face. "It has no practical value. He doesn't really approve of us doing anything that's not aimed at furthering our careers."_

"_Then he must not approve of Hawk much," I commented off handedly, as if the answer meant nothing to me._

_Sam was quiet for a moment. I wondered if maybe there was actually some loyalty to his brother in there. _

"_Zach and our father have a very…complicated relationship," Sam finally said. The way he said it made me think that "complicated relationship" was not what he meant to say. "Dad isn't always the easiest person to get along with."_

"_Something tells me that's an understatement," I replied._

_Sam smirked, but there was an emotion behind it I couldn't quite read. "I don't' know how much Zach has told you about our family. Dysfunctional might be a nice way of putting it."_

_I stared into my drink and let silence consume the table. Sam was being way too talkative. He was revealing more than he should have and if I were a little more naïve I might have been fooled into thinking he trusted me with the information. I wasn't naïve though and I knew that what he was "letting slip" was meant hurt Hawk in some way. I guessed that what he was telling me was meant to get me to pester Hawk for answers, maybe even get mad that my friend was keeping secrets._

"_What about you? Do you have a good relationship with your father?" I asked. I wanted to pull him away from thoughts of his brother, and maybe away from his deceptive mission._

_Sam's eyes flickered again, there was something in there I just couldn't quite read. "I have…well…I have a relationship with him."_

_Hmmm…so Sam was willing to spout anything and everything about Hawk, but he wanted to keep himself a secret. But somehow I sensed there was something a little more to Sam than what he was showing me and possibly even his brother. Whether he meant to or not I could hear the contempt he had for his brother in his voice anytime he started talking about Hawk. And there was something like…well I wasn't exactly sure what the emotion was that flashed in his eyes anytime he started talking about their father. It all gave me a feeling that something big was actually going on. Maybe even bigger than Hawk knew._

"_C'mon man, this place is too noisy," Sam said as he suddenly stood._

_I stood and followed him out of the club. The night air was warm with just enough of a breeze to stir the air, but not enough to be cold. We walked a ways down the street and toward the nearby park._

"_I don't know if I should be hurt that Zach hasn't told you about his family," Sam said finally. There did seem to be genuine hurt in his voice, but my gut told me not to believe what I heard._

"_I would think he'd only do that if he had a reason," I replied._

_Sam nodded. "It's not my place to say anything though. Obviously Zach is ashamed of us."_

_I didn't say anything in reply, but internally I was pretty wound up. Sam was a terrible actor. It was obvious to me that whatever had happened and been on the family's side and not Zach's. His need to hide behind the terrible act of the arrogant jerk was proof._

"_I came here in hopes that maybe I could get through to Zach. I miss how close we used to be, y'know," Sam said, breaking the silence._

"_Y'know, I got the distinct impression that Hawk was pretty close to his parents when they were here for Christmas," I commented._

_Sam was silent for a moment as if debating what to say to that. "Zach hasn't had contact with the family since he left when he was sixteen."_

_I frowned and stopped walking. That didn't jive with what I knew, or thought I knew, about Hawk. If those weren't his parents at our place on Christmas, then who were they? And why would he go out of his way to keep up a lie? It made me wonder just what my friend was hiding._

_And I should have been paying more attention to Sam because suddenly he was right in front of me so close I could see myself reflected in his eyes. His eyes that were exactly like Hawk's, yet different in a way I could never put into words. I went to take a step back, but he followed and suddenly his lips were on mine. My first instinct was to shove him away, but I managed to stop myself before I actually did it. I knew I was going to hate myself for it later, but instead of shoving him away like I should have I let him pull me closer. I told myself I was doing it for Hawk and that he would understand._

_He wasn't a half bad kisser either. For a moment I imagined the one kissing me was Hawk and let myself be absorbed in it. His hand slid around the nape of my neck and then up through my hair sending shivers down my spine. His other hand cupped my cheek, his thumb caressing my face. All I could do was keep reminding myself I was doing it to help Hawk. As he pulled away and looked into my eyes I wonder just how far I was going to have to go to save Hawk from whatever scheme his brother was cooking up. I knew the answer was however far it took._


	6. Chapter 6

**When Zach asked me about Project Onyx it sparked something in me. I could swear I had heard it at some point when I was younger, but I couldn't remember anything about it. Even if he hadn't asked me to look into it I probably would have anyway. **

**That's how I found myself in my office well passed work hours. I kept getting insufficient security clearance everywhere I turned. It wasn't a surprise. I was a test analyst for his company, but that didn't mean he was about to give me full security access. Department Omega was well out of my clearance and that's where Project Onyx kept bringing me to.**

**And the fact that Sam knew something about it didn't set right with me. I loved Sam despite his unreasonable hatred for Zach, but at the same time I knew there was something going on with him. I knew he was working for our father, but neither of them would even give me hints about the extent of his duties. I knew he tested some of father's weapons and such, but I also knew he did more than that.**

**I was in the process of attempting another method of finding information when the door to my office opened. I looked up, annoyed that someone had entered without knocking, and froze. The man standing in the doorway smirked at me and sauntered in despite the heated glare I threw at him.**

**"What do you want Kevin?" I demanded.**

**Kevin's smirk grew. "You're snooping where you shouldn't, Andrew."**

**"Don't call me that," I snapped. "What do you mean anyway? I've just been--."**

**"Trying to look at Department Omega files," Kevin cut me off. "It's not a good idea, Andrew. Department Omega is none of your business."**

**I continued to glare at him. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I don't appreciate you waltzing into my office without knocking."**

**Kevin sneered at me, turned around and walked back out of my office, shutting the door behind him. I rolled my eyes as he knocked on the door, louder than need be, and then entered once again. I really wanted to smack the smirk off his ugly face, but he was the Director of Department Omega and that made him untouchable. My father wouldn't hesitate to fire me if I laid a finger on one of his most important scientists.**

**"Happy?"**

**"Smart ass," I snapped. "Don't you have something more important to do?"**

**"Maybe, but it's not nearly as fun as winding you up, pretty boy." Kevin retorted. "Besides, I don't want to see you get into trouble and poking around Department Omega is a kind of trouble you don't want."**

**"I don't appreciate you threatening me," I told him angrily.**

**The Director smiled that oh so fake smile that I saw on Sam's face all the time. "It's a friendly warning, Andrew. You'd be wise to listen."**

**With that Kevin sauntered out of my office and shut the door with a soft click. I'm not usually short tempered, I've had to take care of two younger brothers since we were kids, but Kevin Anderson always managed to set me off. The guy just knew which buttons to push. And I always got a feeling he knew more than he was letting on.**

**And something about Project Onyx was important enough to trigger some kind of alert in Department Omega. It was something my father and apparently Director Anderson didn't want me to know. The fact that Sam knew about it just made me worry more. Whatever Project Onyx was, it was big. And I had to find answers.**

**xxxx**

My first reaction was shock. I knew my brother was going to move quickly, but seeing him kissing Shark…I was just frozen. I knew he was doing it on purpose. He made sure to kiss Shark right outside the surfer's room so I would see it. Sam knew right where to hit to hurt me.

And my shock was quickly replaced by a burning fury. How dare he touch what was mine even though I had hardly laid claim. What I failed to remind myself was that Shark was free to be with whoever he wanted, that he wasn't mine to be protective of anyway. That fact was lost to the parts of my brain being swallowed by blazing red anger.

I followed Sam as he went and at the first opening I pounced. My brother planted his feet in my stomach and flipped me over and I landed on my back with an audible ooff.

"What's the matter Zach? Jealous?" Sam taunted softly. "This is only the beginning."

"You bastard," I hissed and got to my feet, trying to keep pressure off of my still aching ankle.

I charged him again, swinging wildly, and my brother smoothly blocked and dodged all my angry moves. Then with devastating accuracy he countered and sent me sprawling to the ground wheezing for breath. Sam kicked me once and went for a second, but I rolled away and into a half crouching position. Sam waited for me to get up and I saw his eyes flick to look at my ankle before a wide smirk spread across his face. He came at me with a speed I couldn't match and could barely block, forcing me to back up. He then lashed out and kicked my ankle as I tried to take a step back. I cried out in agony and crumpled to the floor holding my ankle.

"Oh, that looked like it hurt," Sam sneered. "You should remember to keep your weaknesses hidden, Zach. I thought you would have at least learned that from our father."

I growled and stumbled to my feet. With a roar of pure rage I pounced at him using all the strength I could with only one leg. Sam actually laughed as he side stepped me and I saw my mistake with frightening realization. In my anger I hadn't paid attention to where we were. I only managed a terrified gasp before something connected with the back of my head and everything went black.

xxxx

I was half asleep when I heard somebody shouting. I jerked awake and went to see what was going on. What I found was a scene I'll forever remember. Sam was dragging Hawk's limp body out of the pool. My heart nearly stopped at how still my friend was and from a distance I couldn't see if he was breathing or not. Sam was crying for his brother to wake up, but to my utter confusion wasn't doing anything he was supposed when saving a drowning victim. I rushed forward as I heard my other three friends arrive.

I shoved Sam out of the way and checked for a heartbeat and breathing. He had a pulse, but he wasn't breathing. I tilted Hawk's head back and pulled on his chin to open his jaw. I briefly wished for a CPR mask just in case, but I wasn't willing to wait long enough to grab one from the first aid kit. I pinched his nose closed and sealed my mouth over his, not even thinking about how much I wanted this to be a completely different circumstance, and gave two long, slow breaths. Thankfully that seemed to be enough and Hawk started cough up water. I carefully rolled him onto his side and breathed a sigh of relief that it had been a lot better than it could have been.

"What happened?" Axel demanded.

"He was so mad about something. He punched me in the face and I fought back in self defense. I don't know how we got so close to the pool, Zach's always been scared of water. The last thing I remember is him hitting me and when I came to he was underwater," Sam explained with perfect confusion and worry in his voice. I knew the snake was lying, but the others seemed to buy his story. "Is he going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine," I replied with a hint of no-thanks-to-you in my voice.

Hawk slowly moved so that he was laying on his back and stared up at the ceiling vacantly. Fear flashed through me. Just how long had he not been breathing? The horrible thought of brain damage rattled my cage, but was dispelled the moment Hawk sat up and glared at his brother. He didn't say a word, but he shakily got to his feet and hissed the moment he put pressure on one leg.

"Hawk? What happened to your ankle?" I asked.

Hawk never stopped glaring at Sam. "I must have twisted it."

"Do you remember how you ended up in the pool?" King asked. I watched him shoot Sam a suspicious look, but no one else noticed. I knew right then I had to talk to him privately as soon as I could.

"I fell," Hawk retorted shortly. I glanced at Sam just in time to see him flash the barest hint of a smirk at Hawk. "And we're done with this damn inquisition. I'm sure you can learn everything you want from my dear brother."

With that Hawk limped away and we were left standing there with questions unanswered. I for one wanted to know what really happened. Hawk has had a temper in the past, but what would Sam have said to set his brother off? Or did Hawk really make the first move? I needed answers.

xxxx

I slammed the door to my room and sank to the floor. I knew Sam had just used that little stunt to win brownie points with my friends. It made him look like a hero for pulling me out of the water. Hearing him tell them his twisted version of what happened and them accepting it twisted the knife. They probably thought I was some temperamental asshole who attacked my twin brother for no reason. And I couldn't bring myself to tell them that it was partially true. I attacked Sam first, but that bastard was aware of our surroundings. He knew we were by the pool. He let me almost drown just so he could play the hero.

He said it, he told me, but I didn't want to believe it. He really did hate me. If he cared even a little about me he wouldn't have let me fall into the pool. He was there when our father pushed me into the water so I would learn to swim. He knew how close I came to drowning that day. For him to let me fall into the water like that especially when he knocked me out first…

I jumped as someone knocked on my door. "Hawk?"

"Go away Axel."

"I just want to talk."

"I don't," I snapped.

"You need to," Axel prodded.

I snorted. "Oh bite me, Axel. When have you really cared about me?"

"What? Hawk, of course I care," Axel retorted instantly.

"Sure, when I swoop in to save your ass. Or when I'm the distraction or decoy. Or how about when I get hurt saving your asses," I snapped. I was still leaning back against the door and perfectly happy telling him off with a barrier between us. "Otherwise, you like to laugh at my misfortunes and single me out for ridicule. And you're completely blind."

There was silence on the other side of the door. I wondered if maybe I had managed to piss Axel off enough for him to go away. It was what I was going for, but everything I said was the truth. Sam being around made me look more closely at how my friends had treated me in the past. I shouldn't have been surprised since it was really pretty much what I was going for anyway. But for some reason it hurt that it took my sadistic twin showing up for them to even start suspecting anything was wrong in my life.

"Blind to what?" Axel asked, surprising me somewhat.

I sighed. I had said a little more than I should have. "Go away Axel."

"Hawk--."

Axel cut himself off and I could hear soft talking, but couldn't understand what was being said. I heard Axel give a sigh of defeat and then he and whoever he was talking to walked away. After a moment I used the door to get to my feet and limped further into my room. I carefully stripped out of my soaking clothes and threw them into the hamper then just as carefully limped into my bathroom where I dried off. I changed into dry boxers and a shirt then climbed into bed. I knew sleep wouldn't come to me for a while, but I didn't have the energy to do anything else. I just wanted the day to be over even though I was scared to think what the next day would bring.

xxxx

AN: First and foremost, I'd like to thank Encrypted Pseudonym for helping me with the rescue procedure. Also, big thanks to my wonderful beta Zort who has no idea about ATOM but still does an awesome job. As always I want to thnak everyone who's reviewed. Everyone should be thankful I didn't do my usual evil cliffhanger and leave it right where Hawk got knocked out. Anyone who's read my other stuff knows how eeeeevil my cliffhangers can be. Also, I've been watching some of the episodes over again and I've realized I don't really have the friendship thing down right, which irks me, but it's a little too late to change. And lastly, if anyone wants some muses who lack attention span and like to go after random plot bunnies I'd be glad to share. Mine are driving me nuts.


	7. Chapter 7

Of course, I didn't get any sleep. Just as I started to drift off the door to my room banged open and I almost fell out of bed as I jumped in shock. Shark stalked toward my bed despite the look of indignant anger I gave him.

"Get up, you're going to the hospital," Shark told me.

My glare intensified. "The hell I am. Where do you---."

"You almost drowned, dude. You're going to the hospital cause you're in danger of secondary drowning. Unless of course you'd like to die in your sleep," the surfer replied.

"You're just being dramatic."

"That's your thing, Hawk," Shark told me with a friendly smile.

I sighed and decided the best thing was just to give in. Shark was a registered lifeguard after all. He knew what he was talking about. And any anger I had felt toward him for choosing my brother instead of me had long since passed. As much as I had acted like an arrogant ass toward them all it was really no surprise he chose my nice, friendly brother instead.

Two hours later I was checked into the hospital for observation. That observation lasted for two days of pure torture. Of course my twin brother had to watch over me like any real brother would. It just gave Sam plenty of time to torment me about anything and everything he could think of while I had no way of escaping. Luckily, he could only do that while no one else was around and Shark seemed to be around a lot. I was going to have to thank him for that later.

For a few days after I was released from the hospital Sam seemed to play nicer than usual. He took great care in making sure the others saw how great of a brother he was being. But I noticed there was a change in the way Shark and, surprisingly enough to me, Axel treated Sam. It was as if my two friends were starting to get suspicious of my brother, but still weren't quite sure what to think. Sam must have noticed it too because he tried all that much harder to stay on their good sides. Not for the first time I wondered just what my brother was up to that needed my friends on his side.

"Hey Hawk." I jerked awake from my light snooze and looked up at Axel. He was leaning over the back of the couch looking down at am. "Mr. Lee is ready for you to give the Razorwing a test flight."

"That's the best news I've heard all week," I said as I bolted from the couch. "What are we waiting for?"

"Shark and Sam made a run to the store for food. Do you want to wait for them?"

My blood boiled at the thought of my brother being alone with my crush. At the same time the whole situation confused me. For a moment I thought Shark had almost caught onto my brother's deception, but obviously I was wrong if he was still hanging out with him alone.

"Why wait? I'll just be leaving them in the dust anyway," I replied cockily.

I didn't wait for Axel's response. I found myself being colder and colder to my friends since the night I almost drowned. Friends. Everything that was happening was making me really come to see the truth in how my friends treated me. I tried to hold on to the positive moments, like Lioness actually hugging me, but those moments were few and overpowered by the negative moments. And I found myself wanting to be around them less and less despite knowing that all of that was exactly what Sam wanted.

I got into my blue uniform and hopped onto my bike and took off. I knew Axel probably wouldn't be happy that I left like that, but I couldn't really bring myself to care. When questioned I could just say I was excited about the idea of testing out the Razorwing, which was completely true. The truth was I needed a little break from the others if only to clear my head and get my thoughts straight. I needed to figure out how to handle the situation I found myself in.

Five minutes later Mr. Lee was giving me last minute warnings and instructions as a few of his techs were showing me how to put the armor on. Apparently there was a certain way to put each piece of the armor on so that once all on they interlocked for greater protection and still allowed for a full range of movement. I tried to pay attention to Mr. Lee and the techs when I heard the door into the room slide open and I heard the voices of my teammates and brother as they approached.

"Hey Hawk," King called out. "I'm surprised you were going to let us miss you trying this baby out."

I didn't reply. I let the techs finish the rest of the armor and then I put the helmet on. Last time I had the helmet on it was only for a few minutes to check it out. Hell, last time I had only been allowed to hover in the air with the AGPS but it was time for Mr. Lee to let me actually fly the thing. I was fidgeting as Mr. Lee finished up his instructions to me.

"And finally, try not to get into any trouble. I'd like the Razorwing to survive longer than your other test runs."

I smirked at Mr. Lee though it was hidden behind the featureless helmet I wore. "No worries Mr. Lee. Flying is what I'm made for."

"So is finding trouble," Sam replied.

Safe behind my helmet I shot him a look that could have frozen a penguin. "Bite me."

With that I activated the AGPS and lifted into the air. I hovered for a second like I had the last time and then shot into the air. The design was just like a jetpack without the fiery engine and was controlled the same way. I noticed immediately that the flight was smoother and as I noted before there was hardly any noise, just a soft humming sound that only increased slightly the faster I flew. I flew straight through the sunroof that had opened up and out into the big open sky.

The Razorwing handled like a dream. I could do maneuvers with it that I couldn't have dreamed of doing with a jetpack. The HUD was amazing too. All I had to do was concentrate on something at it zoomed in as close as I wanted. I knew that could come in handy in a fight though I hoped I wouldn't have to find out. Just because I could fight, didn't mean I wanted to. The exception was Sam. I really, really wanted to beat hi---.

My thoughts were swiftly interrupted as I felt something wrap around my foot. The armor status display in the corner of the HUD showed that a grapple was wrapped around my bad ankle and that a sturdy chain was attached to the grapple. I looked down and spotted a familiar black figure perched on a rooftop. Upon zooming in I noticed the chain was wrapped around one fist and he was pulling me in with no problem at all.

Damn how could I have forgotten that guy? And I was no closer to having an answer about Project Onyx than I was the last time. However, this time I was ready for his tricks. I turned around and flew straight at him. The black clad man seemed to watch me as I got closer and I really wished I could see his face. When I was close enough I threw a kick at his head, but he grabbed my leg and swung me into the rooftop. The armor absorbed the impact and I sprang to my feet before he could hit me while I was down.

"I'm not going to be such an easy target this time," I snarled at him.

"All you have to do is answer my question about Project Onyx and we won't have to fight," the man replied.

"What is your obsession with Project Onyx? What do you know about it?" I demanded.

"It's not what I know, but what you need to know," was the cryptic reply.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

The black clad man cocked his head and leaned against the wall of the entrance into the building's stairwell. "You're awful on edge Little Hawk, what's your problem?"

"Wha--What the hell kind of question is that? That's none of your business," I retorted, furious and confused at the same time.

"I don't have to be your enemy, Zach. You just have to get the answers about Project Onyx to know who your allies really are."

"Would you stop being so damn cryptic and answer me? Who the hell are you anyway?" Okay, I was overloading him with questions, but I really needed some answers. All the guy was doing was confusing me more and more.

"Some answers you have to find for yourself, Little Hawk. The answer about who I am…you can just call me Renegade for now."

"For now? I was kind of hoping this would be the last time I see you," I told him.

I could hear the smirk in Renegade's voice as he replied, "How about this. If you can beat me in a fair fight you'll never see me again. But if I win you have to find the answers I want and you can't stop until you do."

I wondered briefly if that was a smart bet to take. My ankle was barely healed and the doctor had told me to be careful for a while. At the same time the idea of never having to hear Renegade's mocking voice really appealed to me. I was getting enough of that from Sam I didn't need it from another source.

"What do you consider a fair fight?" I asked.

"Oh, you can keep your pretty armor on if that's what you're wondering. You'll need it," Renegade replied arrogantly.

"Fine. I'll enjoy making you eat those words."

Renegade laughed, but before the sound had even really registered in my mind he lunged forward with an uppercut to my jaw. The helmet absorbed the impact, but the power behind the blow snapped my head backwards and made me stumble. He swung a second time, but that time I was ready and ducked. From that position I lunged forward and slammed him against he wall. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders to hook under my armpits and hold me in a bent over position. He kneed me twice in the chest before he released me and sent me tumbling with a kick to the chest that despite the armor was enough to knock the breath out of me.

"You leave yourself open for attacks, Zach. You need to tighten your defense," Renegade said as he stood watching me. There wasn't a hint of mockery in his voice, but that's still how I took it.

I got to my feet and watched my opponent warily. I was tired of having my butt handed to me. I wanted to win a fight for a change. It was apparent I wasn't going to do that by rushing into the fight. I needed to be smarter and use what I learned in the Air Force.

I ran at Renegade again and faked a punch to his head. When he ducked I kicked him squarely in the face. Renegade stumbled backward and I followed through with another kick and then dropped into a leg sweep that took him to the floor. I tried to backtrack, but I wasn't fast enough and he returned the favor. I hit the floor with an ooff but scrambled up as quick as I could only to find he was already on his feet and seemingly waiting patiently for me to get my bearings straight.

"That was a nice fake out. They teach you that in the Air Force?" Renegade asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

I stared at him in surprise, thankful it was hidden by the helmet I wore. "How did you know I was in the Air Force?"

"I know more than you think I do," he replied smugly.

I growled in irritation and charged him. I saw him shift his weight to the side and threw a kick at him just as he moved. It caught him square in the chest, but instead of falling back he grabbed my leg and tossed me away. I rolled to the edge of the roof and then over the edge. I fired up the anti-grav and hovered there waiting just out of sight. When he looked over the edge I flew up with a powerful uppercut to his jaw. That took him off his feet and knocked his helmet off. The black helmet rolled across the roof to stop a few feet away from him.

For the first time I got a good look at Renegade. He looked like he was only a year or two older than me with buzz cut black hair and he was pale as if he hardly ever got any sun at all. But the things that startled me and brought me to a complete stop were his eyes. They were jade green and I don't just mean the irises. I mean both of his eyes were completely green with no pupil and no whites. They were sharp and completely alert as he watched my reaction. I just stared at them, completely absorbed in how weird they looked.

"It's not polite to stare, Little Hawk," Renegade told me and I finally heard his real voice, not the distorted mechanical one he had used through the helmet.

I continued to stare at him. Something about his voice was familiar. And the way he kept calling me Little Hawk…something tugged at the edge of my memory but it was fuzzy and I couldn't get a grasp of it. One thing I was sure of was that I had seen those eyes before and heard that voice.

Suddenly he lunged at me and I couldn't move fast enough to get away. One fist hit my helmet and the other was buried in my stomach. Even the armor was not enough to keep the breath from being knocked out of me. He shoved me to the floor and stood over me triumphantly.

"It's a wonder you made it in the Air Force at all with how easily distracted you are," Renegade told me. His jade eyes peered down at me with sharp intensity. "You're going to get yourself killed that way."

He then stepped away from me and walked over to his helmet. With his back to me I watched him bend down to pick it up. I was still wheezing for breath from the hit he had delivered, but I wasn't about to let the perfect opening pass me by. I flipped to my feet and flew at him with a kick that connected with his ass. Renegade gave a startled yelp as he toppled forward, landing on his helmet hard. My opponent lay on his stomach and it was his turn to wheeze for breath.

"At least I remembered when I was taught not to turn my back on my opponent," I shot at him.

Renegade chuckled as he caught his breath as if there was something remotely funny about the situation. He pushed himself into a crouch with his back still to me and I moved to take advantage in his lapse of judgment. I gave a startled gasp as he caught my leg and yanked hard, slamming me to the ground. If it wasn't for the armor I knew I would have been hurting a lot worse.

"I think you're getting to know the floor a little too well, don't you Little Hawk? Why don't you just give up and I won't have to hurt you anymore," Renegade taunted.

I snorted and pushed myself to my feet. "You don't know me as well as you think you do if you think I'll surrender."

"I just wanted to see if you were as much of a coward as you act."

I growled and barely kept myself from lunging. That guy knew how to push my buttons easier than anyone I had ever encountered. Even Sam didn't push my buttons so easily. I wanted more than anything to beat Renegade and never have to see him again.

"C'mon, Little Hawk. Give me your best shot."

I glared into his green eyes as he had not put his helmet back on. We started to circle each other as I looked for an opening. More than anything I wanted to knock the smirk off his face. I was so tired of people smirking at me. Then I saw it. My HUD caught the slightest tensing of his muscles and met his lunge with a punch that rocked him. He fell to the floor and didn't move and a chill swept through me as I realized the his momentum combined with my punch could have been enough to snap his neck. I moved to kneel beside him and regretted it as his fist snapped up and connected with my faceplate. It wasn't really all that hard of a hit, but it gave him time to spring to his feet. I took a desperate step back and just missed his kick to my chest.

"C'mon Little Hawk, you can do better than that," Renegade taunted.

I tensed my muscles to attack when the comlink in my helmet crackled to life. "Hawk, what's taking you so long?"

"Just have something I have to take care of Axel," I replied. "I--ooff--"

My reply was cut off when Renegade pounced me. His weight and momentum was enough to take me down. I managed to get my feet under his stomach and tossed him away from me. I used that momentum to roll backwards and into a crouch. The fighting was beginning to take it's toll on me. I was having trouble catching my breath and my muscles were beginning to burn not to mention my not quite healed ankle was beginning to throb. I had to end the fight soon or there was no way I was going to win.

"Don't tell me that's the best you've got," Renegade sneered.

I pushed myself into a standing position and turned to look at my adversary. Renegade was standing with his arms crossed and that damn smirk planted firmly on his face. I really, really wanted to knock that smirk off his face.

"How the hell do you move so fast?" I demanded. His reflexes and attacks were faster than anything I had ever seen. Even Axel couldn't move as fast.

Renegade shrugged. "Why do you move so slow? You're capable of being faster."

"Why can't you just answer my damn questions? Why do you have to be so cryptic?"

"Where's the fun in that?" was his reply complete with a smirk.

I growled and clenched my fists. "I'm going to knock that damn smirk off your face if it's the last thing I do."

"Bring it on then. I can go on like this all day," Renegade replied calmly. "But you look like you're getting tired."

I growled softly. I was trying to control my body language so he wouldn't be able to read me, but it obviously wasn't working. Once more I charged Renegade and instead of trying to hit him I tackled him to the floor. Unfortunately he planted his feet in my stomach and kicked me backwards. I was sent tumbling across the roof and stopped just short of going over the edge.

I was just getting to my feet when something zoomed overhead and brought our fight to a standstill. I looked up to see the XT-9000 swing around and then land on the other side of the roof. My brother got out followed by my friends and much to my shock Sam vaulted over to stand between Renegade and where I was standing staring.

Renegade's eyes narrowed at my brother and he hissed something in a language I didn't understand, but somehow knew I had heard before. To my surprise Sam growled and then replied in the same language. Then it was Renegade's turn to growl.

"There's more going on than you know, Sam," Renegade said.

Sam snorted. "I think it's time you get out of here."

Renegade slammed his helmet on and for a moment I thought he was going to have a go at my brother, but he seemed to pass on that idea. "This isn't over, Sam. You can't keep it from him forever."

"I'll send my father your regards."

"Go to Hell."

With that Renegade activated his jetpack and zoomed away. I watched him go with confusion plastered across my face. What was so important about Project Onyx and why couldn't Renegade just tell me? And how did my brother know Renegade? What was the deal with the obvious bad blood between them? Most of all whose side was Renegade really on?


	8. Chapter 8

_It had been exactly a week since Hawk almost drowned and something kept gnawing at me. I don't usually dwell on things, that's Axel's gig, but I couldn't get it off my mind. Sam said it was an accident, but Hawk had refused to give his side of the story. Of course, Hawk did tend to have a temper and I had seen him act on it before with Bogey, but it wasn't the same. Hawk had let it drop. That might not sound like anything big to some people, but it was highly unusual behavior for the Hawkster. Normally if something like that happened to Hawk he would be bitching about it not to mention never letting any of us forget how close he had come to dying. The fact that Hawk hadn't mentioned it once since the incident really didn't sit right with me._

_I had to find out what was going on. I didn't always feel like Hawk thought much of our friendship, but to me he was growing to be one of my closest friends. The fact that something was going on with him that he felt he couldn't tell me just didn't sit right. He was facing whatever Sam was up to alone and I'd never leave one of my pals to face anything alone._

_From what Sam had said to me I guessed that part of whatever was going on had to do with the family. Hawk never really talked about his family much to begin with and the fact that he didn't tell us he had siblings was proof that there was something in that general area of his life that he wanted to keep in the dark. Unfortunately for him, I wanted to shed some light on it._

_That would be easier said than done. In order to find out what was going on with his family we would have to look into his past and that required computer skills. Considering my pretty poor reputation with anything that didn't come with controllers I knew I wouldn't be able to find anything. Fortunately for me I knew someone who did._

"_Hey King, you got a few minutes, dude?"_

"_I always have time for my friends," King said, leaning back in his seat. He was already busy in front of his computer and I felt kinda bad for interrupting him, but he didn't seem upset._

_I looked around once more just to make sure neither Sam nor Hawk were anywhere nearby. "What do you make of Sam?"_

"_I think he's a lying snake and he's up to something," King replied matter-of-factly. "I've seen the looks he gives Hawk when he thinks no one is looking. And I don't like how he's using you to hurt Hawk."_

"_Well, if it makes it any better I'm using him to find out what he's up to," I replied. "I just keep wondering why Hawk hasn't blown the whistle on Sam."_

"_I think Sam is holding something over his head that Hawk doesn't want to be common knowledge," King mused. For a moment he was lost in his thoughts, obviously thinking about the same thing that had been gnawing at my mind for a week. He snapped out of his thoughts and smiled sheepishly at me. "Or maybe Hawk knows his brother is up to something and is letting him play his game to find out what."_

"_Or it could be a combination," I suggested. "Either way, I think we need to know the full story so we can help Hawk."_

"_Is that how you're going to justify snooping into his personal life?" King asked me with a bit of a smirk._

"_Is that you refusing to help?" I shot back._

"_Nope, just wanted to make sure you realized Hawk'll be upset is all. You're closer to him than the rest of us, do you think he's gonna forgive you for this?"_

_That made me pause. Was it going to be worth possibly losing Hawk's friendship in order to help him? Could I really call myself a friend if I didn't do everything in my power to help him? Would a real friend snoop in his personal life? Whatever the answers were I knew in my heart I'd never forgive myself if I didn't help him._

"_He may not, but…but as long as I help him get through this thing with Sam I'll live with the consequences." _

_King seemed to accept that answer and turned his attention to his computer. I saw him save and close a few files before he started his search. I pulled up a chair nearby and leaned back, putting my feet up on the counter in front of me. King shot me a disgruntled look, but I smiled innocently at him and waited. For a few moments the only sound in the room was King's lightning fast typing. I found myself beginning to drift off, my eyelids slowly slipping shut._

_BANG! I jumped and my chair tipped back. With a startled squeal I fell backwards and hit the ground hard. Sprawled across the floor I shot a glare up at King who gave me a very satisfied smirk. Grumbling about maniacal hackers I picked myself up off the floor, righted my chair, and sat down again. King was still smirking to himself as he went back to typing. I wisely did not lean back in my chair again. A few minutes later King sat back with an unreadable look on his face._

"_I don't believe it," he muttered. "Look at this."_

_I leaned over to see what had his shorts in a twist. As I read through I felt surprised and a little hurt. Hawk had been keeping quite a secret alright. And I knew once we told Lioness and Axel that Hawk was going to have a lot of questions to answer. And we all deserved to know the truth because Hawk had been lying to us._

xxxx

It's impossible to sneak into someplace when the occupants are waiting for your arrival. I found that out the hard way when I came home from my short shopping trip. Everyone including Sam was waiting in the living room and as soon as I saw them I knew something had gotten out that I didn't want them to know. Sam looked to be trying very hard to keep a smug look off his face. It made me wonder if the bastard had revealed something just to see how I would talk myself out of it.

"Hey Hawk, or should I say Zachary Hawkes Landon?"

_Oh boy, here we go…_I sighed and set my bags on the floor. I knew I wasn't getting away without an explanation. "How much has Sam told you?"

"Sam didn't tell us anything," Axel replied. "Shark and King came up with that bit of information. We just want to know why you lied about your last name."

"Wait, you mean my sneak of a brother didn't tell you anything?" I asked. My worry was quickly transforming into indignant anger. "You mean to tell me you went snooping into my personal life?"

"We needed answers," King replied.

Shark had the good grace to look ashamed. "I just wanted to help."

"Help by digging up painful details of my past? Gee, thanks a lot," I snapped. "With friends like you who needs enemies."

"Hey, there's no need to get hateful," Lioness objected.

I growled as my temper flared. "I have one pathetic mom, I don't need another."

"Don't snap at Lioness she didn't do anything," Axel barked in reply.

"And I really don't need another father," I snatched up my bags and shot Sam a dark look. He wasn't even bothering to hide the smug grin on his face. "If you want to know stuff so badly just ask Mr. Smug Ass Grin here. He'll be glad to ruin my life for me."

With that I stomped off. I couldn't believe the nerve they had. What gave them the right to snoop around in my personal life? Help me my ass and I thought Shark was on my side. How dumb could I be? One thing was for sure I was quickly realizing just how little my _teammates_ respected me. Shark and King had any respect for me they would have asked me before they went tearing in my past. I knew I was losing them to Sam, but it really hurt with how quickly it had happened.

Once in my room I pulled one of the duffle bags from my closet and began throwing clothes in there. I needed to get away. I had to clear my head or I was going to say or do more things that I was going to regret. I was already regretting snapping at Lioness and Axel the way I did. At least they didn't go prying where I didn't want them. A few days somewhere else would probably do me some good.

"Hawk wait," Shark called out, but I didn't stop.

I headed straight for the garage and hopped on my bike. Before I could start the bike a hand fell on my shoulder. I jumped and twisted around to see who it was. I was expecting it to be Shark. I was not at all happy to see it was Sam.

"You're just making this too easy for me, Zach," Sam taunted. "I expected you to at least put up a little bit of a fight for your friends."

"Gloating bastard," I snapped. "You've got my friends wrapped around your fingers and my crush totally into you. What more do you want?"

"You really don't want to know the answer to that," Sam replied.

"Why are you really here, Sam? I know you're up to something and you can't play the innocent card with me. I've seen you at your worst."

Sam's eyes darkened with a wicked gleam. "Oh no, you haven't even begun to see me at my worst. When the time's right you'll see what I'm really capable of doing."

"Stop avoiding my question, damn it. Tormenting me isn't the only reason you're here. Father wouldn't let you be in my presence unless he's getting something from it."

"Why do you bother asking? Do you really think I'm going to tell you?" Sam retorted.

I shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

"And while you run around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to figure out what's going on, I'm going to have a blast showing you what real suffering is."

I rolled my eyes and slammed my helmet on my head. "You sound just like one of those villains from a cheap comic book who gloats before he's won and then has all his plans thwarted."

"Oh please, I expect the next thing to come out of your mouth to be "you'll never get away with this" or some equally cheesy shit like that."

"Y'know what, I'm not going to sit here and let you have the benefit of riling me up."

"That's right just run away like you always do."

I ignored his triumphant laughter as I started my bike. He said something that I didn't hear, but I knew it wasn't nice. Without giving him another chance to rag on me I sped away in a squeal of angry tires. I knew it was giving him exactly what he wanted, but if I stayed and continued bickering with him I knew things would escalate and I hadn't been doing a good job of winning fights.

I quickly came to regret my timing. Five o'clock traffic jam was not a good time to try to get around the city. At least, not on the ground. I gave a whoop of excitement as I pushed the button to flying function. I always got an adrenaline rush when I did that. It never really mattered how many times I did it the rush was always there.

Five minutes later I landed and pulled into the secure underground parking lot of Sanctuary. It was the apartment complex where my older brother Drew stayed whenever he came to visit. It was also the apartment I had been living in before Mr. Lee came along. Drew paid for it since I didn't have the money to. The best part was that neither Sam nor my father knew about it.

After parking my bike in the designated garage I shut the door and locked it. I was halfway to the elevator leading up when I heard someone call my name. I wasn't really all that surprised that I was followed, but the fact that of all people it had to be Shark really annoyed me. He was definitely one of the last people I wanted to see.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded.

The surfer looked slightly startled, but quickly shook it off. "I had to talk to you."

"I think you've done enough," I snapped.

"Dude, take a freaking chill pill," Shark retorted.

"Take a--You have the nerve to tell me to calm down? You invaded my personal life," I snarled. "I think I have a right to be pissed off at you."

"Yeah? Then we should have a right to be pissed off for lying to us and deceiving us," Shark shot back. He then visibly forced himself to calm down. "Dude, I just want to know the truth. Is that too much to ask? You're my friend and I know you're trying to face everything by yourself, but you don't have to. I want to help you."

"Yeah by sucking face with my twin," I retorted, but the anger had started leaching out of me with every word he said.

A guilty look crossed Shark's face. "Yeah well, I thought getting in close with him would be the best way to find out what he's up to."

"You--what? You mean you don't like my brother?"

"He's a little too deceitful to be my type," Shark replied. A tentative smile began to grow on his face. "I picked up on the fact that he was up to no good shortly after he got here. I've been trying to find out what."

"Oh, so you're not really into guys then? You're just pretending to deceive Sam?" I asked, dreading the answer.

Shark's smile grew to be slightly mischievous. "If I answer that question will you answer mine?"

"You drive a hard bargain," I mused.

"I promise I won't push you to answer anything you don't want to," Shark added.

"Fine, but let's go to the apartment. I'd really like to have a drink and sit down while I spill the details of my past."

I led the way to the elevator where I chose the button marked with Landon scrawled on a tag beside it. If Shark was surprised he didn't show it. He remained silent the whole ride up which I found to be extremely unusual. Then I realized he was probably just staying quiet so he wouldn't say anything to piss me off. That made me feel a little bad. Since the arrival of my brother I had gotten more and more temperamental and it really wasn't fair to my friends.

The elevator came to a stop and the door slid open. I led the way to the door closest to the elevator and pulled my wallet from my back pocket. From inside it I took a keycard and swiped it through the scanner. With an affirmative beep the lock clicked and I pushed the door open and let Shark walk in before me. I watched him closely as his face went from curious to amazement with each step he took.

The apartment could have almost been a penthouse suite if it had been much bigger. Drew liked to have someplace nice to stay and he still had his portion of the family fortune to do what he wanted with. The apartment was lavishly decorated and consisted of a huge bedroom, full sized kitchen with a pantry, two bathrooms, a huge living room with a sweet entertainment system, and plenty of storage space. The only reason I wanted to leave the apartment was because it wasn't mine and I didn't want to continue living off of Drew's charity.

"Dude, you've been holding out," Shark said in awe.

I snorted. "This is Drew's pad, not mine. I couldn't afford the TV in this place let alone the whole apartment."

"But you can just come here whenever you want?"

"Drew doesn't mind, but it's his place and I hate living off his charity," I replied. I motioned to one of the big luxury couches. "Take a seat. Do you want anything to drink?"

"Water's cool," Shark replied.

I went to the kitchen where I got him a glass of water and picked out a wine cooler for myself. Being underage I usually didn't drink even though a ton of guys my age did and I really couldn't stand the taste of most alcoholic drinks. But I knew I was going to need a little something to relax me if I was going to start spilling the sordid details of my past. Shark raised an eyebrow at my choice of drink, but didn't comment. We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes as I drank a little of my mild liquid courage.

"Sam and I used to be close. We were typical twin brothers. He was my best friend. As cliché as it is we could finish each other's sentences and communicate without words," I said finally. I swirled the liquid around in the bottle. "We planned to get away from our parents together. We were going to use our parts of the fortune to start our own adventure sports park."

"What changed?" Shark asked.

I hesitated to answer, but decided it was time to be truthful and see what kind of friend he really was. "Sam caught me making out with a boy. He hospitalized the poor guy and beat me all the way home where he revealed his discovery to my father."

"And that didn't go over well."

"He gave me a verbal dressing down that was more painful than the beating Sam had given me. Things just started getting worse from that day on. I sucked it up and dealt with it for a while," I paused to consider just how much I wanted to tell him. I made the decision not to hide anything anymore. "Then, one night Sam tried to slice my throat while I was sleeping. I don't know what made me wake up, but I woke up to find Sam standing over me. We wrestled with the knife for what seemed like hours before Drew came in and split us up."

"Sam tried to kill you?" Shark repeated in shock. "Your own twin?"

"He said that such a disgusting creature didn't deserve to live. My parents didn't punish him for it. Soon after that my father threw me out and cut all ties. He had Drew take up legal guardianship of me. When I turned 17 I joined the Air Force with Drew's permission. You know what happened there. Bogey ruined everything, " I took a quick swig from the bottle. "After that I stayed here until everything happened with Mr. Lee."

Shark was silent for a long time. I could see in his eyes that he was taking his time digesting everything I had told him. I swallowed down the rest of my drink and went to the kitchen to throw away the bottle. I grabbed a can of soda and returned to the living room. Shark's eyes were on me the whole time, a thoughtful look on his face. After a few more minutes of silence Shark finally spoke.

"Why did you feel like you had to hide all this from us?"

I snorted. "Yeah right. Obviously it went so well for me the last time someone I thought cared found out I like sucking face with boys. No thanks."

"But why the act? You're obviously not as arrogant and stuck up as you've acted all these months."

"That should be obvious. I wanted to keep you at a safe distance," I answered. "I figured if I treated you all poorly enough you'd just tolerate me being around and not get overly friendly."

"You don't want friends?" Shark asked and I could hear just a hint of sadness with a touch of disappointment.

"I didn't want anyone prying into my personal life. I thought if I treated everyone so poorly they'd think I was nothing but a shallow jerk with nothing deep to me," I replied. "But I have to admit despite my better judgment I've…well I've become attached to you guys. Which is why it became so important to hide the truth. I couldn't stand losing people I cared about again."

Shark was silent again for just a moment long enough to make me nervous. "You really think so little of us that we'd turn on you for something like that?"

"What? No, I--"

"That's what it sounds like to me," Shark cut me off. There was a distinct edge of hurt in his voice.

I sighed in frustration. Obviously he wasn't getting the big picture. "Ollie, listen to me. My own _twin brother_ turned against me when he found out I was gay. That was after fifteen years of being my other half and best friend. How was I supposed to know how you guys would react after only knowing you for a few months?"

"Okay, I can accept that," Shark finally consented. "Why didn't you reveal what Sam is really like? Why let him have so much power over you?"

"Because I knew if I revealed Sam for what he is there would be too many questions and I was afraid of the reaction to my answers."

Shark nodded as if he had expected that answer. Again there was silence as he digested everything he had learned. I drank my soda and let him compose his thoughts. I knew he had more questions. I knew I had opened up a can of worms by revealing everything I had to him. I was no longer worried about him turning on me as he had convinced me I could trust him.

"I heard you and Sam," Shark finally said.

My heart thumped painfully and I swallowed the soda in my mouth before saying anything. "When?

"Tonight."

I paled and set the soda down before I dropped it. "You heard--you were eavesdropping?"

"I followed you down to the garage. I wanted to catch you before you left, but Sam got to you first," Shark replied. "I didn't mean to listen in, but well, I couldn't make myself leave once I saw my suspicions were correct and Sam was really a lying bastard."

"So you heard--you know--?"

"That you have a crush on me? Dude, I didn't need Sam to know that," Shark replied with his eyes sparkling with amusement. "You may be good at playing an arrogant jerk, but hiding your crushes, not so much."

I had to have been scarlet red by then. I could feel my face burning as my eyes dropped to the floor. That kind of hurt my pride a little. I looked up when Shark touched my shoulder. I never even heard him move from the couch across from me.

"The only way I could get through playing nice with Sam was by pretending he was you," Shark told me with a little smile that was almost shy. "I kept reminding myself that I was doing it for you."

"I--You--what?"

Shark's smile grew. "I like you too, dude."

"Really?" I could have kicked myself for sounding so hopeful, but Shark simply continued to smile and nodded.

"But I think we have more important things to focus on before we do anything about this," Shark said, popping my bubble of happiness. "If we get distracted in our feelings for each other Sam might get away with whatever he's up to."

"Wow, you make for a really good voice of reason," I mused, half amused by the whole new side of Shark I was seeing. "I'm not the only actor."

"Yeah, well, I really am a laid-back surfer dude, but most people immediately assume that means I'm also stupid. They tend to relax and talk more."

"You're one smart cookie."

After that we talked about Sam and what I thought he was up to and more importantly what we were going to do. We agreed that in order to keep Sam believing he was safe the others couldn't know the truth. He also convinced me, despite my vehement disagreements, that he would keep playing his little game with Sam. I thought it was a very bad idea. Sam was not to underestimated and he was a lot smarter than he ever let on. I also told Shark about Renegade and his obsession with Project Onyx. Shark suggested we let King in on that bit and see if our computer whiz teammate could find something out. After about an hour of talking and a lot of persuasion Shark talked me into going back to the Aquatics Center. Eventually I agreed. As we headed back I realized I felt a lot more confident in the situation than I had since Sam showed up. I had Shark on my side and I knew together we could foil whatever plans Sam had.

_Watch out Sam. Things are about to get a whole lot more complicated for you._


	9. Chapter 9

"I can't get into any of the files on Project Onyx."

I sighed at Drew's admission. There had to be something there. The more I thought about it the more it was driving me crazy. There had to be a reason why Renegade wanted me know about Project Onyx.

"Everything I've tried leads me back to Department Omega," Drew continued. "I don't' have that kind of security clearance."

"This is really getting to me," I said.

"What's the big deal though?" Drew asked. "You're awfully insistent that I find something. I know this isn't just because Sam mentioned it."

"Why do you always have to look deeper into everything?"

Drew snorted. "Big brother's prerogative."

"Don't even start pulling that card," I grumbled. "You don't have to remind me that you're older."

"And bigger, smarter, and--."

"Alright already," I cut him off. Drew laughed. "You pretty much raised me, Drew. I think I figured all of this out the night you caught me trying to sneak out."

"You're avoiding the subject. Don't think a trip down memory lane is gonna fool me Little Hawk."

I froze and my breath caught in my throat. Little Hawk. He called me Little Hawk just like Renegade did. "Drew, has anyone else ever called me Little Hawk?"

"Not that I can remember, why?"

I didn't really want to tell him about Renegade. I didn't want him to worry about me anymore than he already was. But after the last encounter I wasn't too sure Renegade was really a threat to me. Sure he pissed me off, but he didn't really go out of his way to try and hurt me.

"Drew I--um--I haven't been completely honest with you," I admitted. "Sam didn't say anything about Project Onyx."

"What?"

I then went on to tell him everything that had happened with Renegade. I told him everything Renegade had said and made sure to explain how he said it, especially the cryptic things. Drew listened quietly the whole time and I knew he was absorbing everything I was saying, picturing the scenarios in his mind and picking them apart. My older brother was really good at reading people and determining hidden motives.

"Zach," I jumped when he said my name, having been lost in my own thoughts. "I was visited by someone in black armor with a very simple message. All he said was Project Onyx holds the keys."

"What is this guy's obsession with Project Onyx?" I exclaimed in frustration. "And what does it have to do with us?"

"I don't know," Drew said quietly. "But I feel like I have to find out and not just because that guy has been bothering you about it. I have a feeling that there's a good reason why we should find out about it."

"I'm starting to wonder if I want to find out," I replied. "And I want to know how Sam knows Renegade. There's obvious hatred there."

"And Sam wouldn't tell either of us the truth," Drew mused.

"No, but…I know someone who might be able to find out. It'll probably take some time though."

"Just be careful Zach. People stand to be hurt if things go wrong."

"Trust me, I know."

xxxx

Working for Mr. Lee was a great thing. He provided me with money for necessities and gave me a great job. Testing all his awesome inventions was a dream job not to mention a blast. However, there was a really, really good reason why I didn't let my real last name be known. My father, Trevor Landon, was the CEO of Wingstar Inc. He oversaw the development of offensive and defensive weaponry. Most of his work was for the military, but he did commissions as well. And he was fiercely competitive with other technological corporations, but none more furiously than Lee Industries.

If Mr. Lee found out that one of Trevor Landon's sons was working for him I would be fired for sure. Mr. Lee would think I was just spying for my father. I was sure I would never be able to convince Mr. Lee otherwise. And I really couldn't afford to lose my job. That's why when he called us into his office and told us about the Prometheus Convention I almost panicked.

"The Prometheus Convention is an annual event to showcase exceptional inventions. Like every year I will be taking part and I would like you all to attend," Mr. Lee said. "With all the criminals that have been running loose I think it would be prudent to have extra security."

"Sure thing Mr. Lee," Axel agreed.

I tried desperately to control my adverse reaction, but something must have shown on my face because Shark shot me a curious look. "You okay, dude?"

"Course I am," I shot back quickly. "So when is the Convention?"

"In two days," Mr. Lee replied. He then looked at me. "Sam is welcome to attend as well."

I wanted to tell him how much of a mistake that would be. I wanted to tell him that if anyone was a danger to the secret of his inventions Sam was it, but I kept my mouth closed. Telling him about Sam would reveal me and I really didn't want that to happen. I was really beginning to get tired of all the lies and charades I had to keep going.

I was quiet the rest of the time Mr. Lee explained what was going to happen. I earned curious or worried looks from the rest of my teammates at my unusual silence. By the time we were excused I knew I was in for a major grilling. And I decided that I needed them on my side for what was coming. I needed my friends if I was going to face my father again.

"Okay Hawk, spill. You've been quiet since Mr. Lee mentioned the convention," Lioness said as soon as we were in the car.

I was quiet for a moment, trying to decide where to start. "Doesn't the name Landon sound familiar to you guys at all?"

"Nope," three voices answered instantly.

"King," I questioned.

My friend was quiet for a moment longer before he snapped his fingers. "Landon, Trevor Landon, the CEO of Wingstar Inc?"

"That's him."

"That's your father?" King asked in surprise.

"Unfortunately," I confirmed. "and he's going to be at the convention. He never, ever misses a chance to one-up Lee Industries."

"Wait, you're working for the rival of your father's business?" Axel asked.

I felt a squeeze on my shoulder and looked over at Shark. My friend gave me an encouraging smile. The look in his eyes spoke volumes. _Trust them_ his eyes said. I knew he was right. It was time I trusted them with at least a little bit of the truth, at least where my mother and father were concerned.

"My father disowned me when I was fifteen. He threw me out of the house, literally, and gave legal guardianship to Drew," I told. No use sugar coating the truth. "I have no loyalty to that man."

"What about your mother?" Lioness asked, though she sounded as if she was in a little shock.

"She never really gave a damn. Besides, she wouldn't dare go against my father. No one in their right mind would," I replied. "He's always got hidden agendas in everything he does and his damn business means more to him than anything in the world. His family is more for appearance than anything else."

"Wait a minute, wait are you talking about the same parents who came to Christmas?" Axel asked, his concentration split between me and the road.

I ducked my head sheepishly and felt Shark squeeze my shoulder. "Those were actors."

"You paid actors to play your parents? Why? Why not tell us the truth?" Lioness asked. I could tell by the edge in her voice that she wasn't happy about being lied to and deceived.

"Because it would raise questions I wasn't prepared to answer," I admitted. "I wasn't sure how you all would react to the truth."

"You thought we'd be bothered by the fact that your parents disowned you?" King sounded mildly offended.

I sighed in frustration. Sometimes I wondered just how thick headed some of my teammates were. "No, I was more concerned with the why he disowned me."

"Because you're gay?"

At my shocked expression Lioness elbowed me in the side. "I told you that you didn't have to hide and I told you that we aren't as closed minded as you think."

"You're not as good of an actor either," Axel said in a voice filled with amusement. "We just let you keep your act going since it seemed like you needed it."

"You--I--How long have you all known this?" I stuttered.

"What, that you're gay? Kinda pieced it together by evidence. You try way, way too hard to get the girls. You seemed like you were trying to convince everyone else that you were straight," Lioness replied.

"As for the whole arrogant act, well, there have been moments of sincerity that showed who you really are," Shark spoke up.

I was torn from being grateful that my friends had bothered to look below the surface of that act I had put up and being annoyed that my acting wasn't as good as I thought. I let those thoughts go as my mind returned to my problem.

"The point of this whole story is that when we got to the Prometheus Convention my father is going to be there and there's no way I'll escape that place without him gleefully pointing out to Mr. Lee who I really am. I'm going to lose my job for sure," I explained. "And if my father doesn't blow it, Sam will." _And he'll do it with a big innocent grin._

"You could pretend to be sick and not go," Shark suggested. "Not like there aren't enough of us for security."

"It doesn't matter, Sam will still go and whether I'm there or not he's going to reveal the truth to Mr. Lee," I replied. "There's no getting around it. If Sam goes I'm screwed."

Shark squeezed my shoulder again and I looked over at him only to see a big mischievous grin on his face. "Then maybe we should make sure Sam doesn't go."

"Or better yet, why don't you just ask Sam to avoid your father?" Lioness suggested. "I'm sure he would agree."

I wanted to tell her the truth right then and there, but I was sure that would ruin any chances of finding out what Sam was up to. I was pretty sure he wanted the Razorwing, probably for my father, but had to be sure. And that meant keeping three of my friends in the dark.

"I'll talk to him," I said with no real intention of doing so. "but I need to plan for the worst."

"Hawk, if Mr. Lee does fire you that doesn't mean you can't still live with us," Axel said, his eyes shifting to look at me through the rearview mirror. The other three nodded in agreement. "And we'll help you get another job if it comes to that."

"Whatever happens, dude, we'll be right by your side," Shark added.

"And since you're being so open right now, why don't you tell us about that green eyed stalker of yours," Lioness said.

Well, there was something I hadn't explained to Shark yet. All we talked about was my poor family life. I wasn't sure how to explain Renegade to them. I still wasn't sure where that guy stood. But Lioness had a point. I was being open and it wasn't like Renegade was some kind of dirty secret. Plus, I didn't particularly feel like facing him alone anymore. It felt too good to have the real support of my teammates. So I started from the first encounter, including how the night started with a rumble with Spydah and ended with me limping home.

"Why didn't you tell us about any of this?" Lioness asked. I could tell she was angry that I had kept something like that from her.

"I guess I got too used to keeping secrets," I replied. _Time to see if my acting skills really suck. _"Besides, I didn't want Sam to worry about me."

"I don't think Sam worries about anyone but himself," King muttered.

Lioness shot him a look. "Why would you say that? He's done nothing but be a supportive brother."

"Whatever you say," King shrugged it off. "I just know I don't trust the guy. No offense Hawk."

"None taken," I replied easily. "Sam has that effect on some people." _With good reason._

Axel must have decided not to touch on the subject of my brother and focus on the two other problems. I smiled and relaxed. I felt like a big weight had been lifted from my chest. My most shameful secret had been revealed and despite my worries my friends had stuck by me. I still had one little secret to share with Axel, King, and Lioness but for that moment I was content to sit back and really be myself for a little while. I listened as they planned how to deal with whatever came our way and sighed happily. Who could ask for better friends?


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Sorry about the long wait. For some reason I couldn't quite get this chapter done and my muses were having fun jumping from one fandom to another. But rest assured I still have big plans for this story. Anyway, thanks to everyone still reading. Enjoy!

xxxx

_Project Onyx. That name popped up several times during Hawk's explanation about Renegade. Renegade seemed obsessed with Hawk finding out what Project Onyx was. Hawk didn't seem to have any clue what it was and I could tell that he was worried about what Renegade would do to him if he didn't get answers. I didn't want Hawk worrying about something like that. The dude had enough on his mind with Sam around and the upcoming convention where his father was going to be. He didn't need to worry about some mysterious stalker too._

_So I once more talked King into helping me. He was more enthusiastic about helping me the second time around. He dropped the other things he was working on and started in with his mad computer skills. I watched in complete awe as he worked his magic. I knew enough about computers to find some good sports websites and play video games. Just thinking about trying to do everything King was doing made my head hurt._

_I shifted my thoughts to Hawk. My friend was under so much stress. He was trying to figure out what his twin was up to not to mention he had been trying to keep some pretty big secrets. He had finally spilled his guts first to me and then later on to the rest of our friends. He still hadn't revealed to them that Sam was a lying snake, but most of the gang has got that impression already. However, I could tell that Hawk was still stressed out and I really wanted to do something to help him._

"_I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to find anything," King admitted as he typed furiously._

"_We have to find something," I urged as if he didn't know that already. My friend shot me a no-duh look. "Sorry, I know you're doing your best, dude. This whole thing just makes me worry."_

"_I know, me too, but--oh shit."_

_My friend's quick change of voice and rarely used explicative caught me off guard. I quickly moved to see what had startled him, but he was closing out of stuff so quickly I didn't get a chance._

"_What's wrong?" I asked._

_When all the windows were closed and he seemed satisfied, King turned to me. "My search led me into something military, something classified. I'll be lucky if I didn't get caught."_

"_Military? Think it has something to do when Hawk was with the Air Force?" I mused._

"_I don't really know how the Air Force works, but I don't think he was there long enough to become involved with anything," King replied thoughtfully. "In any case, that's as far as our investigation goes."_

_I was disappointed, but I didn't push him. How he had managed to actually get so far as a classified military project stumped me. I knew he was good I just never realized he was that good. I let him go back to whatever it was he was doing and wandered off to find Hawk._

_I knocked on his bedroom door and waited for him to answer, but after a few minutes there was nothing. I knocked a second time just to make sure, but again there was no response. I turned and decided to check the garage, but was startled when I bumped into Sam. Hawk's brother gave me a smile that would have fooled me if I didn't already know what a snake he was._

"_Hey dude, do you know where Hawk is?" I asked._

"_Nah man, haven't seen him," Sam replied and I could tell he was actually telling the truth. "Did you check the roof though? He likes going up there."_

_I was kinda annoyed that Sam would give away Hawk's personal getaway spot like that, but I thanked him and walked off. I had no intention of invading Hawk's space like that. I decided to check the garage just in case he was down there instead._

xxxx

"You can stop saying I told you so."

"No I can't, I'm getting way to much enjoyment out of it."

"Jerk."

I listened to Drew laugh and rolled my eyes. Sometimes my older brother could be a real pain in the ass.

"What are you going to do now?" Drew asked once he was done laughing.

"I dunno," I admitted. "It's only a matter of time before that Renegade character comes back and I really don't want to think about how I'm supposed to deal with our father."

"Just remember you won't be alone for that. I'm coming along too, much to his annoyance.."

"Good, maybe you can help me thwart whatever Sam is up to."

"You know I'll do whatever I can to help you, Zach," Drew replied. "Now, I have to get some work done before the convention. I'll see you then."

"Have fun."

"Yeah, right," And with that Drew hung up.

I flipped my own phone closed and slipped it into my pocket. I then just sat and enjoyed the view of the sun setting. I didn't usually take the time to watch a sunset or a sunrise for that matter. But I wasn't ready to go back inside and have to deal with my twin. I hated that I was giving him that kind of power, but I wasn't really sure what to do about him. My friends knew most of the truth and other than Shark I was sure Axel and King had doubts about him too. I could probably have revealed him for what he really was and gotten the full support of my friend, but at the same time I thought I had a better chance of stopping him from doing whatever he was up to. I was pretty sure he was after the Razorwing and I had no intention of letting him have it.

"You isolate yourself a lot, y'know."

I cringed at the one voice I didn't want to hear. "Can't you leave me alone?"

"I think you know the answer to that," Sam replied with clear taunting in his voice. "I had hoped to get a little bit of a challenge from you. I thought maybe you'd fight for what you care about a little more."

"You haven't won anything yet," I snapped in reply.

Sam smirked. "You told me the other night that I had your friends wrapped around my fingers and your crush totally into me."

"What's your point?" I demanded. "I could end your game right now by revealing everything."

"And take the chance of them hating you for it? I seriously doubt you have the balls to take that risk," Sam sneered.

I opened my mouth to keep arguing with him, but decided again it. Instead I shot him a look full of fury and stormed past him and had to once more ignore his triumphant laughter. I couldn't wait to put him in his place but I couldn't afford to do it yet. All I could do was grit my teeth and try and get away from him. I grabbed my jetpack from where I had placed it and slipped it on as Sam insulted my pride a few more times.

"Stick a sock in it," I snapped and then fired up the jetpack and took off.

xxxx

_Later that evening as I was coming down to the living room I found everyone except Hawk gathered there. Sam was chatting happily with Lioness who seemed to be hanging off of every word he said. How she couldn't pick up on what a jerk he was I'll never know, but she seemed to be buying his act. King looked like he was trying very hard to ignore every word Sam was saying without looking like he was ignoring him._

"_Hey Shark, you're joining us for dinner, right?" Axel asked._

_I started to say yes and then thought better of it. I didn't really want to spend anymore time with Sam than I had to. Instead I made an excuse about not feeling well. I could tell King didn't buy it, but he didn't call me on it._

"_Do you know where Hawk is? We wanted to invite him too." _

"_Nope, haven't seen him," I replied to Lioness's question._

_The group then headed out and I plopped onto the sofa to wait for Hawk to make his appearance. There wasn't much of anything good on TV so I decided on Mythbusters. I loved how they so enjoyed blowing stuff up.. Sometime while the Mythbusters were shooting frozen chickens at an airplane cockpit window I must have fallen asleep. And I was deep in a pretty pleasant dream consisting of me, Hawk, and a deserted beach when I was woken up by the sound of shattering glass. I jerked up as I heard someone cursing from the kitchen. I got up and headed into the kitchen to find Hawk picking up pieces of a glass. He looked up at the sound of my bare feet on the floor and smiled sheepishly._

"_Butterfingers," he said in way of explanation._

_I smiled and kneeled down to help him. "Where've you been, dude?"_

"_Went for a flight to clear my head," he replied as he picked up a fairly big piece of glass._

"_Sam getting to ya?"_

_There was just a moment's hesitation that caused me to look at him and I saw a brief flash of something I didn't quite recognize. He shrugged and threw away another piece of glass. "Yeah, I'm not used to having him around."_

_I snorted. "I'm pretty sure that's an understatement."_

"_Yeah, guess that's true. It's just all so much to deal with," Hawk said._

"_Oh, that reminds me. King and I tried to find out more about that Project Onyx, but it led to some kind of classified military thing," I told him. "Any idea what that could be?"_

"_Why would I know anything about a classified military experiment?"_

"_Well, you were in the Air Force for a little bit, dude," I retorted. "I thought maybe knowing it was military might jog your memory."_

"_I wasn't enlisted long enough to get into any kind of classified anything."_

"_Then why is Renegade so intent on you finding out what Project Onyx is? It doesn't make any sense."_

"_Maybe Renegade is just some psycho who thinks Project Onyx has something to do with me."_

_I gave my friend a curious look at that. Hawk had seemed insistent that finding out what Project Onyx was. From the way he had talked he seemed confused about what Renegade was really all about. I didn't understand the sudden change in his attitude._

"_Anyway, there are more important things to focus on," Hawk continued._

"_Like Sam?"_

_There was another brief flash of something in his face, but it was gone before I could recognize what it was. "Oh, I must have forgotten to mention it, but while I was out Sam found me and told me that he had to leave."_

"_So we don't have to worry about him anymore," I said with relief. "That's one problem solved. Now we just have two more left."_

"_Two more?"_

"_Project Onyx and the Prometheus Convention," I told him._

"_What's wrong with the Prometheus Convention?" He asked._

_I once more gave him a curious look, searching his eyes. "Dude, I thought you were freaked because your Dad is gonna be there."_

"_Oh, right, my dad. I guess I'll just have to deal with that when it comes up," Hawk replied._

_We finished cleaning up the broken glass and went to the living room where we turned on a movie. I didn't pay attention to the movie. Instead I tried to figure out why exactly something felt wrong. Hawk was acting weird and his answers to my questions were just kind of…off. But he was under a lot of stress and I decided that must have been why. Satisfied with that answer and turned my full attention to the movie and forgot about my worries for a little while._


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Sorry for the long delay between chapters. My muses have been more focused on other fandoms. Blame them. Okay, I'm taking creative liberty and saying that Ollie is a shortened Oliver, cause it makes sense to me. Not like I haven't already taken creative liberty with this story...Also, Trevor is a mean-spirited man so be warned. Lastly, I posted this without putting it through my beta first. I know, shame on me.

xxxx

_The day of the Prometheus Convention arrived and Hawk wasn't nearly as nervous as I thought he would be. I knew he was probably hiding it, but it just seemed odd to me. For someone who had been seriously freaked out about seeing his dad again he didn't so much as break a sweat when Axel was handing out our assignments. While the rest of the group was doing their last minute preparations I pulled Hawk aside._

"_Hey, you okay?"_

_Hawk gave me a weird look. "I"m fine, why?"_

"_I just thought...well, I just wanted to check," I replied a little awkwardly._

_Things had felt really awkward around Hawk. He acted almost like our heart-to-heart never happened. His responses seemed forced and fake. He seemed to flounder for answers that should have been easy. But mostly it was the little things. It was the little things that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and twisted something inside of me. And because of the awkwardness between us it seemed as if Hawk was doing what he could to avoid me._

"_Ready guys?" Axel asked as he and the other three joined us._

"_As I'll ever be," Hawk agreed._

_We piled into Axel's car and headed to the convention. Mr. Lee was hosting it at one of his places which meant we not only had to watch his stuff, but provide extra security for the whole place. We weren't the only security of course. We were the special security. The main security guards were posted at the doors and around the room while we wandered around watching for trouble._

_When we arrived we had to check in with security and provide our IDs to get in. We were early and most of the people hadn't show up yet, but it didn't take long for that to change. Before I knew it the place was swarming with people. _

_There was a lot to keep track of too. There were hundreds of exhibits and demonstrations going on. And there were hundreds of people milling about. There were three floors as well. Hawk and I were assigned to the first floor. I noticed with some trepidation that Wingstar Inc. was on our floor. If Hawk noticed he didn't react. And while doing everything else I was also keeping one eye on him._

_Things were going just find until I saw a man in a black suit grab Hawk by one arm and pull him over to the Wingstar Inc area. I took a quick look around to make sure everything else was cool before I began to slide my way through the crowd to Hawk. As I approached I got a good look at his father. Trevor Landon wasn't a big guy, but it felt that way. What little height advantage he had over Hawk he certainly was using to make my friend feel small. He had the same strawberry blond hair as Hawk, but there were streaks of grey and it was long enough to be slicked back. His gray eyes seemed to pierce to my very soul when he glared at me at my approach._

_Hawk looked over at me and something that could have been annoyance flashed over his face, but it was gone before I could really get a look. "Father, I'd like you to meet Oliver Sharker. Oliver, this is my father Trevor Landon."_

"_Nice to meet you, sir," I said respectfully, though I really just felt like decking the guy._

"_I'm sure," Trevor retorted, giving me a dirty look. "So this is the riff-raff you're associating yourself with now? It's a good thing I separated you from the family name then."_

_Hawk scowled. "You had your thug drag me over here just to insult me?"_

"_I just want you to know that when I buy out Lee Industries you and all your miscreant friends are going to be out of jobs," Trevor replied, his dirty look turning to one of smug satisfaction. I just wanted to punch the dude._

"_Then I guess it's a good thing for me that you'll never be good enough to buy out Mr. Lee," Hawk retorted fiercely._

_Trevor smirked. "You seem to put a lot of confidence in your Mr. Lee. Do you really think he and I are so different? It takes a certain kind of man to make it in this business."_

"_Aw, is that your way of showing your concern for me?" Hawk sneered. I felt like maybe I should step in, but wasn't completely sure what to actually say or do._

"_Hardly. Why would I care about a faggot?" Trevor threw the insult with poisonous disdain._

_Hawk tensed and I grabbed him by the shoulder. "Fuck you and your close-minded prejudice!"_

"_I see hanging around those barbarians has turned you into one yourself," the smirking man taunted. "Why don't you take your boyfriend and go screw each other in a cave somewhere far away."_

_It was Hawk's turn to grab me. Two hulking men in black suits moved to stand behind their boss and the CEO of Wingstar Inc merely smirked viciously at us. Hawk used the hand he still had on my shoulder to pull me away. I tried to ignore his father's malicious laughter as we moved away through the crowd._

"_What a prick," I growled. "How could he talk to his son like that?"_

_Hawk shrugged, "It comes naturally."_

_I turned my head to stare incredulously at him. How was Hawk taking it so easily? He didn't look bothered at all by his father's harsh words. Was he so used to hearing them or was there something more?_

"_Zach," a voice called out from behind us._

_Hawk twisted around at the sound of his name and I turned my head enough to watch his face. A myriad of emotions flashed before he settled on surprise. At that I went ahead and turned around to see who he was looking at. A young man who looked like he was maybe a few years older than us was sliding his way through the crowd. He had spiky brown hair and familiar stunning green eyes. I knew who it was without Hawk saying a word._

"_Hey baby bro," the young man said. "I saw you having it out with our dad."_

_Hawk scowled, "He's an asshole."_

"_Nothing new," the man said. His green eyes moved to me and he smiled widely. "You must be Shark."_

"_And you must be Drew," I shook the hand he offered to me._

"_Zach's told me all about you," Drew said. "It was getting pretty annoying actually, listening to his woes of unrequited love."_

"_Hey," Hawk exclaimed, punching his brother on the shoulder._

_Drew laughed. "Oh please, don't try and deny it."_

_Hawk shot his brother a look that wasn't very friendly. It wasn't a look I had ever seen on Hawk's face before. The smile stayed firm on Drew's face, but he older Landon brother cocked his head slightly._

"_You've got a nice pad here in town," I said, trying to break the tension that I could feel. It seemed so out of place and one sided that it almost hurt._

"_Taken him to the pad already, have you?" Drew teased his brother. It felt strained, as if Drew wasn't sure of what kind of reaction he would get._

_Hawk's face twisted slightly in confusion before a careful, almost fake smile formed. "Yeah, thought it would be nice for some alone time."_

"_I bet," Drew laughed._

_I laughed with them, but inwardly I was confused. Hawk made it sound like he had willingly taken me there. The truth was I had stalked him there. It wasn't for alone time, it was because I wanted the truth and I knew deep down he wanted to tell me._

"_I hope you cleaned up after yourself and used the guest room."_

_I stayed silent. I wanted to see how Hawk would react._

"_Like I'd use your room," Hawk replied, shooting me a look so quick I would have missed it if I wasn't looking for it._

_What the hell?_

"_Alright, that's enough talk about that. I don't need to hear about my baby bro's sex life," Drew said with a mock shudder._

_What sex life? As far as I knew Hawk and I were both still virgins. At the very least we had both agreed that any kind of relationship would have to wait until Sam was dealt with and the mystery of Project Onyx was solved. Was Hawk just trying to impress his brother? I decided that must have been it._

_Drew stepped closer then so that our conversation couldn't be overheard. "I'm still not having any luck finding anything about Project Onyx. I still can't get security clearance and now they're watching me."_

"_That's okay," Hawk said after a moment of hesitation. "It's not a big deal anyway."_

"_Not a big deal?" Drew asked, looking confused. "I thought Renegade was still pushing for you to find out the truth about it."_

"_Oh ern...I think he's given up."_

_Drew didn't look convinced. "It was just a few days ago that he last visited you."_

"_And I haven't seen him since. Just let it go," Hawk snapped. Drew's look of surprise matched my own. "We'd better get back to our duties." _

_My friend then turned and stalked away. I looked at Drew who had a puzzled look on his face. Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought my friend's behavior was out of place. Drew watched his brother for a moment before his eyes slid to me._

"_Do me a favor will ya?"_

"_Anything," I replied._

"_Keep an eye on my bro? Something's not right with him," Drew said as his eyes moved back to watch Hawk._

"_Glad I'm not the only one who's noticed," I retorted. "I'm sure things'll get better now that Sam's out of the picture."_

"_Out of the picture?" Drew repeated questioningly._

"_Yeah, Hawk said he left a few nights ago," I explained._

_Drew frowned. "That's funny, our dad implied he was still here."_

"_Really? He must be up to something then," I mused._

"_Zach and I think he's after the Razorwing for our dad, but we don't know for sure," Drew replied. "I don't believe for a minute that Sam left. Not when our dad is here."_

"_Should we look for him?"_

"_Not yet, but I have a feeling that little snake is right under our noses."_


End file.
